Perfect Prefects... Or Not
by Y. Kuang
Summary: Basic L/J love/hate, Lily and James despise each other, Lily finds out she's a Seer, she discovers our animagi friends (blackmail), a Spring ball, a prefect Project, and strange dreams. *FINISHED!!!* Explanation Chpt (Chpt 23) up! Read it!!!!!!!!!!
1. Default Chapter

Chapter 1

*~*~*~*~*

__

Stupid prat, Lily thought indignantly, recalling her last conversation with James. Not a conversation, even. Just

two people throwing words at each other. She doubted that James Potter had ever been on her good side, starting from

when he told her to act like a chicken to get onto the platform, and she doubted he ever would be. But this time… She

wasn't sure that she'd _ever_ forget it… Implying that she was going out with _Snape_, _that_ was too much.

*~*~*~*~*

"Why was Lily seething about you in the Common Room?" Sirius asked. 

"No reason. I just commented on how much time she spends with Severus ever since they were paired for the Charms assignment," James replied. 

"Hmm. She seemed to think that you were implying that she was going out with the slimeball."

"I might've," James admitted.

*~*~*~*~*

"Miss Evans? Is something troubling you?" McGonagall asked. 

"No, professor," Lily answered.

"Alright… if you say so. Please inform Mr. Potter of the rehearsal for the Spring Ball tomorrow. Report to the Great Hall during your potions lesson."

*~*~*~*~*

"Potter! Evans! You were _supposed _to conjure a white swan, not a bleached duck!" 

"Sorry, Professor," they both mumbled.

"Insolent students! Wonder how you ever became prefects," Professor Donohov said, directing his speech to the two of his least favorite Gryffindors.

"That's enough, Donohov," Professor McGonagall said curtly. "Will all prefects please follow me to the Great Hall at this time?"

*~*~*~*~*

"Wow," Lily breathed.

The Great Hall was beautifully decorated. From the ceiling, there were doves flying up near the ceiling in a circle, a small flower in their beaks. Sunlight was streaming in, providing for a natural spotlight. Fragrant flowers were hanging on the walls. It was all perfect. Perfect until McGonagall said the words that they had all dreaded. 

"Dance." 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

****

*(A/N) Thanks for the reviews! I added to chapter 1, by the way, about four more paragraphs. 

*~*~*~*~*

Lily winced as James stepped on her toes. _Again._

"You're a terrible dancer," she said.

"Not my fault."

"It hurts."

"That's not my fault either."

"Potter! Could you try dancing instead of trodding on Miss Evans' feet?" McGonagall snapped.

"Yes, Professor."

"Good," she said, seemingly satisfied. Lily winced again.

*~*~*~*~*

Two hours later, McGonagall waved her wand and the music stopped, much to the relief of many students.

"Now, the reason I asked you all to do that is to test your dancing skills, mostly for the waltz. Why? Because, as prefects, you all have the responsibility of having the first dance, with your fellow House Prefects. Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"Then can I change to the other prefect in my house? Evans isn't much of a dancer," James quipped, as the rest of the prefects laughed. Lily and McGonagall glared at him.

"Would you rather dance with Mr. Frank Longbottom? Though, I do believe, he has reserved his dancing with a Miss Cornelia Retule, as there _is _no other Gryffindor female prefect."

"Why couldn't I do that?"

"Because, Mr. Potter, Mr. Longbottom has my trust and respect. And he's a year higher than you."

James rolled his eyes.

*~*~*~*~*

"I swear, Sirius, the Hall looked too good to be true. Just think of all the possibilities it could lead to…"

"Huh?"

"Consider this: How mad do you think McGonagall would be if we exploded dungbombs in the bouquets of flowers?"

"Oooooo! And Filibuster's Fireworks in the soup!"

"What soup?" James asked blankly.

"There's not going to be any soup?" Sirius asked, clearly disappointed.

"No, but we could hide some at the bottom of the Slytherins' drinks. Sound and touch activated, I should think." 

"How perfectly genius! And we'll need some other things, too, of course."

"Yeah. It's just plain-"

"Evil," Lily said, coming in through the portrait hole. "The most fitting word, Mr. Potter, is 'evil'."

"Gee, glad my name's got a proper title to it now, _Miss_ Evans. And, FYI, _I_ was going to say that it was 'brilliant'," James said. Turning to Sirius, he asked, "So, who're you taking to the Ball?"

"Hmm… Lily."

"You are?" James and Lily asked in surprise.

"Of course. Miss Evans, would you allow me to escort thee to the Ball?" Sirius asked, making a sweeping bow.

Lily laughed. "Of course, er, _sir_, but the Ball isn't for full month, in Easter."

"I shall wait, fair maiden, I shall wait whilst my anticipation devours my insides like a maggot does a dead horse…"

"Okay, _that's_ gross. And, by the way, I wouldn't try to pull any of those pranks, if I were you. McGonagall took extra precautions, so, I doubt you could actually fool the anti-prank zone she put there. She's very serious about it all."

"Sirius? That's me!"

"Real funny, Black."


	3. Chapter 3

****

Chapter 3

*~*~*~*~* 

"Ow."

"Not my fault."

"You're a terrible dancer."

"Not my fault."

"Sure, and it's not _my_ fault that my toes are suffering from nerve damage."

James scoffed. "I just stepped on your feet a few times. It's _not_ my fault."

"Yeah, it's just my feet having a magnetic attraction to yours."

"Shut up."

"Potter! Evans! No talking!" shouted McGonagall.

"You're scum, Potter, scum," Lily said, just before shutting up. James looked rather flattered.

*~*~*~*~*

"_Sirius Black_ asked you out? _Sirius Black_?" Evelyn McDaniels squealed. 

"Mmm," Lily murmured, bending over her Potions essay.

"Lily! You lucky witch!"

"Huh?" Lily looked up.

"Lily, you are _sooo_ lucky! Tell me _all_ the details! I'm fascinated."

"The only things I'm 'fascinated' in right now are wolfsbane and ginger root."

"Huh?" Evelyn wrinkled her nose. Lily rolled her eyes. Evelyn was a blonde, in more ways than one.

"Wolfsbane and ginger root!" Lily said irritably. "The two key ingredients needed in the potion we've an essay on! Which, might I add, _you_ haven't started."

"Lay off her, Evans," a new voice said, entering through the portrait hole. Lily groaned at the familiarity of James Potter's voice. "It's only homework."

"_Only_?"

"And besides, I didn't come here to see _you_," James said, plopping down on the sofa across from Evelyn.

"Nor I you," Lily replied.

"Then, by all means of logic, _go away_."

"No."

"Fine. Evelyn, will you go to the ball with me?" 

Evelyn gasped with pleasure. "No one else'll have you, hmm?" Lily couldn't help adding.

"_No_."

"Then why?"

"My business."

"Meaning yes," Lily said, rather triumphantly.

"Shut up."

"No."

"Then go away," James snapped.

"Can't you see I'm working?" Lily snapped back. Nonetheless, she shoved her essay and quill in her bag (rather huffily) and stalked away.

"Owowowowow!"

"Oh, _please_, I barely touched your oh-so-perfect feet."

"Potter! What have I told you about talking?"

"Not to do it," he answered dutifully, and, to Lily's observations, rather sullenly.

"Good. Now, all prefects and heads, please gather 'round."

James took a seat at the chairs that had been cleared away, in one of the remaining ones. Much to his disgust, it was across from Lily's.

"Now, as I've noticed, a great number of you can't dance." McGonagall's eyes lingered on him for a second. James flustered, while Severus snickered. "So, I will be holding more rehearsals, possibly by individual pairs." James froze.

"Potter and his mudblood girlfriend, all alone in the Great Hall," Severus hissed. James' hand shot up, out of impulse. Beneath the table, Lily kicked him in the shins. Hard.

"Severus was… er…"

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

"Er…" He faltered, remembering the many times Lily had caused damage to his health whenever he called attention upon her. 

"Yes?"

"Severus was just telling Potter how much he wanted to demonstrate his excellent ballroom dancing skills, Professor," Lily said earnestly. A few prefects nodded in agreement, while Snape glared at her maliciously. Professors, especially this one, took Lily's word as the truth. James, meanwhile, stared at her.

"Well, alright, Severus, if you like. You can earn your house points, I suppose," McGonagall said, clearly baffled. "Go on, Severus." She waved her wand, and a waltz began playing in the background.

"Uh… Professor? Don't I need a dance partner?" Snape asked, looking for a way out.

"Go on, Evans," James said evilly, giving her a push. "You know you're dying to dance with your soul mate."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

(A/N) Thanks for the reviews! 

*~*~*~*~* 

"Miss Evans? You want to be Severus' partner? Alright, I suppose. You both win a hundred points to your

House." Lily stared in horror as James winked at her, grinning.

"Er… Severus. Hello," she said politely.

"Go on you two. Severus, arms around her waist. Lily, hands on his shoulders. Very good, very good. Now…_begin._"

James watched as the two prefects (namely, his two worst enemies) danced. Lily was a good dancer, he noted 

Maybe it was the lack of toe stepping. Or, maybe, _he_ was just really bad at dancing. Maybe she didn't _want_ to dance well around him. Or _maybe_-

"OOOOWWWW!" Lily suddenly yelped, stirring James from his thoughts.

"Miss Evans?" Lily ignored her professor (for the first time in her life, probably).

"You. Stupid. Slimy. Git. You're. Worse. Than. Potter!"

"_Lily Evans!_" the professor exclaimed. "_Never_ in my years of teaching have I _ever_ seen such behavior of a 

prefect. Well-" McGonagall's eyes lingered once more on James, "Nonetheless, that'll be a detention for such coarse language, and, I should think, sixty points from Gryffindor."

"But- I- but- I didn't-" Lily sputtered. McGonagall held up a hand.

"I don't want to hear it, Miss Evans. The rest of you all, dismissed."

*~*~*~*~* 

Lily hurried out of the Hall, and brushed past James quickly, her face flushed. With his stride, it was easy for James to catch up with her.

"_You!_" Lily shrieked, jabbing a finger at him. 

"It's-" jab "-you're-" jab "-bloody-" jab "-fault-" jab "-I'm-" jab "-in-" jab "-this mess!" 

James threw his hands up in amusement. 

"So," he said casually, "how much worse?"

"Huh?"

"Inside. You said that Snape danced worse than I did. How much worse, would you be so kind to enlighten me with such information?"

"Oh. _That_," Lily flustered. "Oh, he was, to put it nicely, utterly horrible. To put it truthfully he is an abnormally, abysmally stupid a-" She frowned. "That, Mr. Potter, is beyond all words and characters in the good king's English to describe. The latter is what I intended to say, by the way, not what I began with the alliterations on the letter a."

"You mean, _abnormally_, _abysmally_, stupid, and whatever you began to say? Please, continue. I'd like to meet the side of Evans that isn't so quiet and subdued. The one who nearly murdered me back there."

"Oh…" Lily broke off, searching for something to say. "If you _ever_ make me dance with that git, or even place me within five feet of the pathetic excuse for a being when he has dancing shoes, you _will_ see that side of me… and more."

"I'm intrigued."

"Good for you. Now if you'll excuse me, I must pay Madame Pomfrey a visit. I can't feel my feet anymore."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

(A/N) Thanks for the reviews! Sorry Chapter 4 was so short! I have a Science report due soon, so… On with the story now, shall we?

*~*~*~*~*

"I didn't realize he danced _that _badly," Evelyn said worriedly. "Maybe I should cancel."

Lily laughed, shifting her feet in a grainy yellow liquid- it felt like moving sand.

"No, don't cancel on my account. It took Potter three days of dancing and Severus Snape to put me in the Hospital. I have… delicate feet."

"You sound like Remus… delicate," Evelyn laughed. "He's sick again. He was sick this time last month, two. Sometimes I worry about the boy… Perhaps he will spend his entire sixth year wasted away, being sick."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Somehow, I suspect something going on amongst the infamous Marauders."

"Yeah, only I think his friends are visiting him this time, you know them."

"Oh, I must be wrong then. I just thought… If Remus really was… They wouldn't be able to… I mean, they don't usually… Never mind," Lily said, glancing out the window. A full moon. How pretty. 

*~*~*~*~*

"Can I catch up later? Professor McGonagall wants us prefects to…" James broke off, wondering how much Sirius would torture him if he knew that he would have to meet Lily Evans for a dance rehearsal. Probably over a week. He thought better of the matter and stopped talking.

"Yeah, yeah. Do your prefect stuff. Shame, though. With it being a full moon, and all," Sirius looked out the window with an innocent, wistful look on his face. James knew better than to trust that.

"You mean-?"

"Yep. Peter and me, we _finally_ got a plan for us, as _last_ year, he was wreaking havoc, half this, half that… Yeah, we're ready fer it all… Prongs."

"Well, maybe I could miss just this one meeting…"

"Can't let you do that, buddy," Sirius shook his head with artificial remorse on his face. "You've got your prefectly duties. We'll see you off, tonight. Then you can come join us," Sirius paused, then grinned. "If you haven't got any er… _other_ plans with dear old Lillikens, that is, of course."

"Who?"

"Lily, you nitwit! Do you even know her first name? I mean you _have_ been calling her 'Evans' since, oh, I'd say forever. Prongsie, buddy, I think you l-"

"Shut up."

"No."

*~*~*~*~*

"Tell Moony I'll be there, Padfoot," James said.

Lily frowned. _Moony? Padfoot?_

"Sure, Prongs. Peter, to."

__

Prongs? And what does Peter have to do with it? Lily wondered.

James made his way towards Lily in the Great Hall. "So… can we make this quick? I know the steps, you know the steps…"

Lily frowned. "You're up to something, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not," James said impatiently.

"Yes, you are."

"_No_, I'm _not_."

"_Yes_, you _are_."

"I'm not going to waste my time and energy on you, Evans."

"Something's up. What was Sirius talking about, with the whole, 'Prongs, Padfoot, and Moony' thing? And Peter? What about him? You can't hide this, Potter. You reek of guilt."

"You don't miss a thing, do you?"

Lily ignored this. "I take it they're some sort of nicknames, then. You must be 'Prongs', as Sirius called you that. You called him 'Padfoot', so, by process of elimination, your little partner in crime, Remus, must be 'Moony'. Cough it up, Potter, what's the story?"

"My lips are sealed."

"So, therefore, I now _know_ something is up, otherwise you wouldn't 'seal your lips' for no reason. Thus, you have a reason. Spill."

"Logic's working tonight, isn't it, Evans? Keep it up, Sherlock, and you may find something."

Lily glared at him.

"Full moons make people do strange things…"

"Whatever. Fine. I'll tell the professor you got sick, or something. Go do whatever illegal thing you're going to do. I'll find out sooner or later."

"Sure you will."

"I'll figure you out, Potter."

"Ha, I'll tell Moony that." James strode out, leaving a fuming Lily staring after him. 

*~*~*~*~*

"_That_ close, Prongs?" 

James pawed the ground slightly before turning back human. "She's close to finding _something_ out."

"Damn. Hot _and_ smart. You lucky-"

"Not really, considering it's _Evans_ you're talking about. I would rather spend my afternoons, with, say, anyone else. She's already figured out our nicknames."

"_How_?"

"You called me Prongs. I called you Padfoot. I said Moony, and I mentioned Peter."

"She doesn't miss a thing, does she?"

"I don't suppose she does, Padfoot. I don't suppose she does."

"Well, keep your eye on her, Prongs. After all, she isn't _too_ hard to look at."

*~*~*~*~*

__

Padfoot, Moony, and Prongs. _Why on earth would they need an alias?_ Lily pondered. 

__

Because they're boys. 

__

What does that prove? Her better judgement pondered.

__

It proves that all boys are stupid, mindless gits who don't deserve a second thought. Why do you care, anyway?

I don't.

Yes you do. Why?

No reason.

Sure. You care, don't you? You care a lot.

"Shut up!" Lily said out loud at her inner conscience, throwing a pillow at the ceiling.

__

I know they're up to something.

You sooo care.

No I don't.

Yes you do.

No.

Yes.

Curiosity killed the cat, didn't it?

You're starting to sound like Potter.

So are you.

How is that?

I'm your inner conscience. I'm you.

"Lily Evans, you know you're in trouble when you're talking to yourself in your head," Lily breathed.

__

You know I'm right.

"That's 'cause one of us has to be, and we're both ME!" Lily said out loud.

"Lily? Who're you talking to?" asked Evelyn.

"Um… me. Nobody, just me."


	6. Chapter 6

****

Chapter 6

(A/N) Thanks for the reviews, all! Sorry it took me so long!

*~*~*~*~*

"Tell me, are all werewolves dangerous?" Lily asked, her green eyes boring into his.

"O-o-of course they are," Peter stammered. "W-why do you ask?"

Lily sighed exasperatingly. She had chosen to interrogate this particular Marauder because she knew he was horrible at keeping secrets. If he wanted to do it the hard way…

"I ask because I want to know, Peter. Now, tell me, What. Do. You. Know. About. Werewolves?"

"N-n-nothing!"

"You lie worse than Potter. And if you know nothing about werewolves, how would you know they're all dangerous? Why, Peter! Are you _lying_ to me? Tsk, tsk, tsk, so _rude_!"

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about."

"No? I'll figure out what you and the rest of your little gang does every month sooner or later. And believe me, it'll be sooner." 

"Oh, there's James and Sirius! Bye!"

Lily's eyes narrowed as the two boys waved to Peter. Remus was out sick, as usual. How very fitting to her theory.

*~*~*~*~*

"Where's Potter?" Lily asked Evelyn the next morning.

"How should I know? Why do _you_ want to know? Since when do you seek out your worst enemies?" Evelyn replied.

"Because I have important issues to discuss with him."

"What issues?"

"Mind your own business. Oh, there he is."

*~*~*~*~*

James glanced up. Lily was coming over… Since when did she seek him out?

"So… what brings you here, Evans?"

Lily seemed distracted. "Tell me, Potter, I was just curious…"

"Curiosity killed the cat," James said.

"Yeah, but satisfaction brought him back. Anyway, was I… right?"

"About? Though I highly doubt you were wrong, as all the professors seem to think you're always right."

"About your nicknames. Remus is 'Moony', right?"

James spooned his cereal. "Why do you ask?"

"Simple yes or no question, Potter. I would have thought you were at least capable of _that_. Is. Remus. Moony?"

"Didn't realize you were into monosyllables, Evans. And yes."

"Yes, what?"

"You said it was yes or no. That's it. Monosyllables for monosyllables."

"So Remus is Moony?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I don't think _you _should be the one asking that. _I_, if anyone does, have that right. Like why Remus is a werewolf, or something like that. And why you and your little friends are unregistered animagi."

James coughed, or, rather, choked on his milk. "Wh- H- You- _What did you just say?_" 

"So I'm right? Remus- He's a-a- a _werewolf_?"

" _Shut your trap_, will you?"

"I assume that's a yes. So you're an unregistered animagi?"

"How would you know?"

"Because. I figured out Remus is a werewolf, so-"

"_Will you shut it with the 'werewolf' business?_"

"-_So_, as you and your partners in crime were actually visiting him, I was a little thrown off… Since humans can't interact with werewolves without getting grievously injured. Then, I recalled what our Defense Against Dark Arts professor told us about werewolves last year-"

"If you're going to say it, say 'wolfy', will you?" James interrupted irritably.

"- _Anyway_, he said that werewolves are a danger only to humans, and that there have been cases in which fully trained wizards in animagi form were able to temporarily restrain them- up until the point they couldn't, when the werewolf ate them. To my recollection, that lesson, was one of the only ones you and your friends showed interest in. So, as I was going over the facts last night, it all clicked in place," Lily finished composedly, and a bit smugly.

James had to hand it to her; she _had_ figured a great deal out, and he was pretty sure that if it were the reverse situation, he wouldn't have been able to. However, there was still one thing bothering him-

"_Who_, exactly, did you inform all this to?"

"What, the animagi stuff, or the werewolf business?"

"Animagi stuff."

"No one. _Yet._"

"What do you mean, 'yet'?" James asked suspiciously.

"Well, I don't think that it's a very good idea to go running around as an underage wizard who became animagi illegally, and I think it would do _great _amounts of damage to your record. Wanted to get into the Ministry, didn't you? My, my, my, that will be hard, now won't it?"

James scowled. He had always wanted to boast about the Marauders' achievements to _somebody_, but not to the one person that would relish in the idea of him in trouble with the law. Well, two, if you counted Snape, three hundred, or so, if you counted the whole of Slytherin-

"Well, I have places to go, people to meet," Lily said, getting up from the table. 

"Wait. _Please_ don't tell the professors about this," James pleaded, for the first and last time to Lily Evans.

"What would I get in return?"

"What d'you mean?"

"I mean, well, it's _awfully_ hard to keep such a _big_ secret, so I would most _definitely_ want to get something out of it for my own benefits, don't you think?" Lily smiled sweetly, pushing in her chair.

"I know blackmail when I hear it," James said, gritting his teeth.

"Not blackmail. I like to think of it as… effective persuasion. Well, have a _lovely_ day, Mr. Potter. Or should I say… Mr. Prongs."


	7. Chapter 7

****

Chapter 7

*~*~*~*~*

"She knows." 

Sirius glanced up. "Who? Knows what?"

"Evans. I told you she was close to finding out."

"Knows what?" Sirius repeated.

"You know what…"

"Well, as long as you told her she was wrong and denied it… She'd probably believe you, you know…"

"Uh," James groaned, "She kinda took me by surprise, so it didn't quite occur to me to deny it… I said she was right."

Sirius hit him on the head with a textbook. They were inside the Shrieking Shack, while the rest of the class was roaming around Hogsmeade. 

"_James!_ How could you be so bloody stupid? Lily is not dense, she's going to tell a professor!"

"Well, actually, she-"

"Shut up, I'm talking. Well, at least she only knows that we're animagi, and- _James_, don't tell me she knows about Remus, too!"

"Er… Alrighty then, I'll shut up. But, for what it's worth, I don't think she's going to tell."

"How do you _know_ she's not going to go running around blabbing our secrets? Did she say, 'Oh, James, I won't tell, you believe me, right?' Women are like that… Tricky. Deceitful. Shady. She's probably told the entire school by now. And if Bertha Jorkins gets wind of this, she'll spread the news at eighteen students per second. We're ruined-"

Peter scurried in through a small hole as a rat and changed back into a human. 

"Peter?"

"I came as fast as I could, Sirius," the chubby boy said in a wheezy voice.

"Too late. Prongsie here's blown our cover. Because of a _girl_," Sirius snapped, changing into a dog and back.

"I didn't tell her. She figured it all out on her own somehow," James defended himself.

"Sure, Prongs. Now look at the mess we're in."

"Er… it gets worse."

"What d'you mean?" Sirius asked sharply.

"You never let me finish earlier. Yeah, erm… She said that she'd keep it a secret as long as we… er, did her certain favors when she asked."

"Blackmail? That sounds out of character for Lily," Remus said. 

"I always told you she was an evil-" James was interrupted by -

-"_Lily?_" Remus said incredulously

The four boys all turned to see Lily in the doorway. Her face was flustered from the sharp wind outside.

"You shouldn't be here," Sirius said disapprovingly.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Neither should you. Think about what you're saying, Black. The class trip to Hogsmeade; Snape was heading over here with Malfoy when I last saw him. I think he's meeting someone else here." 

"And why do you concern yourself with our welfare?" Sirius asked suspiciously. "James just told us of your little plan of blackmail."

"Exactly. If Snape finds out, he'll either tell a professor, or blackmail you. Who would you rather have doing that, me, or dear old Severus, who's right out the window?"

"Huh?"

"Look and see for yourself."

Outside, Snape was leaning against the rail in a casual manner, chewing gum and talking to Malfoy, glancing around every few seconds.

Lily pursed her lips. "I highly disapprove of your illegal escapades, you know."

James frowned. "Do we care?"

"Undoubtedly not… but I have reason to suspect you would care if I happened to tell Professor McGonagall."

"Wha-" Sirius stared at her.

"This is extremely out of character for you, Lily," Remus said.

"For once in my life, I have James Potter on a lower level than me. Did you think I'd pass this chance by?" Lily asked.

"No," Remus admitted. "But I didn't think you'd stoop that low."

"As to blackmail, you mean? Ah, well, I need a few things done for me-"

"You have the best grades in the school-" Sirius started, interrupted by James clearing his throat. "Er- _one of the best_ grades in the school, I mean. You don't need us to do your homework or anything."

"Of course not. Rather, I _do_ enjoy amusement in my spare time from my studies," Lily said in a dignified manner.

"_Spare time_?" Sirius snorted.

At the same time, James laughed, "Your studies? You mean your life, right?"

"Oh, you'll pay for that one, Potter. Here," she said thrusting out a piece of paper for them all to see.

"How…?" James gaped.

"What…?" Sirius sputtered.

"No!" Peter squeaked.

"I'm not in that picture," Remus said cheerfully.

"I do believe you'll recall this… incident, in which you were all in the same bathtub at the same time?" Lily asked.

"I'm not in that picture," Remus repeated.

The "picture" he was talking about was a page-covering picture of Sirius, James, and Peter all in the same bathtub with only boxers on, all of them seemingly having a good time splashing water at each other.

"Give me that," James said, ripping the paper out of her hands.

Lily was unfazed. "I have a couple hundred more copies of that. Hmm… which'll be more dramatic, having them shower into the Great Hall at breakfast, or if the were all pasted on the walls? Perhaps if I were to magically stamp them onto everyone's robes, that would be a bit more catchy?"

"This was in third year, we were just playing around," Sirius said, a hint of pleading in his voice.

Lily's eyes narrowed. "Have you ever heard the saying, 'A picture is worth a thousand words'? I do reckon this one's worth a million… Possibly enough to spread to the four corners of this school. If I tell that seventh year, Bertha Jorkins, I could spread the news even _faster_. Dear me, it _does_ give a certain impression, doesn't it?"

"That's a blackmail within a blackmail. You can't do that." Remus pointed out.

"Who says? Is there some sort of rule about it?"

"No," he admitted. "But still…"

"What d'you want us to do?" Sirius asked resentfully.

"Jump stark naked into the Lake," Lily said pointedly. "However, as that form of public humiliation would also cause eye damage to oh-so-many people, I'll only ask for another favor. Do a prank."

"That's it?" James asked.

"No, of course not. Do a rather complex prank, and get caught by Filch. And Filch has to come up with the punishment. Not Dumbledore, as he finds your pranks amusing, not McGonagall, because she can be bribed with a quidditch win, it has to be Filch that comes up with the punishment."

"But-"

"No buts. You'll just have to do this, and you know, I'm going to give him a few detention suggestions…"

"So it's like a truth or dare game without the truth option?" Sirius asked.

"More or less so."

"Bring it on, baby," Sirius grinned.

Lily smiled slightly. "Glad to hear your enthusiasm, Mr. Black… Because, for the next few weeks, I'm going to make all your lives _miserable_. Count on it."

With that, she blinked, and disappeared.

"I didn't know we could dissaparate," Sirius said blankly, staring at the spot Lily had just been.

"And I'm pretty sure we aren't supposed to be illegal animagi, either," James said sarcastically. "C'mon, we better check up on Snape. Go, Peter."

Peter nodded and transformed into a rat, then scurried under the door crack. 

__


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

(A/N) Hi! Sorry it took so long to update! And without further ado, I present Chapter 8…

*~*~*~*~*

"Miss Evans, have you seen Mr. Potter? It's time for your individual dancing lesson. I believe you were both in charge of remembering to report, even _with_ the Hogsmeade trip?"

"Um, professor, I don't think he's here quite y-"

"Here I am, Professor! Sorry, my friends and I got distracted at the joke shop," James said, rushing in and slightly out of breath. Both Lily and McGonagall fixed him with a glare.

"Don't make it a habit," McGonagall said finally, wiping her spectacles. "Waltz."

James groaned.

"Um, professor? James is really, really, _really_ bad at that one, and so are a lot of other prefects. D'you suppose we could skip that one? It would really make us all seem more organized, if we don't all mess up on it. And, I mean, my feet…" Lily jumped in quickly.

James glanced at her feet. Aside from the obvious bandaging she had been submitted to by Madame Pomfrey, there wasn't anything wrong with her feet.

"Very well, Miss Evans. Thank you for the advice. Try the other one."

James groaned. This one was even more complex.

Lily didn't miss a beat. "Um, professor? Most of the prefects are really, really, really, _really_ bad at that particular one…"

*~*~*~*~*

"_How_ did you do that?" James asked in amazement. "You got McGonagall to cancel three waltzes!"

"She trusts me," Lily said simply.

"So says the girl that apparated out of Hogsmeade," James said skeptically.

"So says the boy with an incredible lack of observation skills. I was dissaparating," Lily replied.

"How _did_ you dissaparate, anyway? We can't apparate _or_ dissaparate on school grounds. Not to mention you have to be incredibly advanced in magic to be able to do that."

"Once again, I must point out your lack of observation skills. The Shrieking Shack is hardly considered school grounds. As for how advanced I'd have to be to get it right… Well, how advanced _do_ you think I am?"

"Humph. How'd you learn, anyway?"

Lily grinned. "Oh, I bet you'd _love_ to know, wouldn't you? Save you time on all your pranks, wouldn't it? Well, to quote an idiot I happen to know, Mr. Potter, 'That's _my_ business'."

James frowned as she left for her next class. 'An idiot I happen to know'. How typical. Lily Evans never gave straight answers. 

*~*~*~*~*

"Professor?"

Dumbledore glanced up from his paperwork. "Yes, Remus?"

"Erm…" Remus shifted slightly.

"Continue, please," the Headmaster said gently.

"Well, um, another Gryffindor student kind of… um… knows about… my…"

"Yes?"

"Well… She knows that I'm a-a… werewolf."

"Aside from your friends, you mean?"

"How did you-? Er, yes, professor. Er, Lily Evans, I think," Remus said, hoping that Lily wouldn't be angry with him later.

"Ah, yes. Miss Evans. She's a particular interest of mine, Mr. Lupin. She has a particular… gift that she shouldn't have acquired… not quite yet anyway." 

Remus noted that Dumbledore had said the last part mostly to himself. Then, realizing that he was still there, Dumbledore glanced up to look at him. "Is she a good friend of yours?"

"Er, I suppose so. James doesn't like her much, really, but Sirius is fine with her. I don't know about Peter, though. She's not really being much of a friend right now, though," Remus said, muttering the last bit so Dumbledore couldn't hear.

*~*~*~*~*

"Lily was called up to Dumbledore during Charms," James announced to Sirius.

"She's going to tell," Sirius answered.

"No… She's probably going to mess with our sanity before she rats us all out," James said. "She's devious and dangerous, I told you. But _nooo_, it's 'Lily? She's harmless', or 'You just don't like her', or maybe a 'She's very nice, actually.' I don't think so! But no one listens to me, do they? _Now_ look, we're practically pawns in her chess game of life."

Sirius snorted. "How philosophical. 'Pawns in her chess game of life'. Didn't know your life's ambition was to become a philosopher, Prongsie-boy."

"Maybe she already told," Peter suggested.

"Or maybe she lied," James said.

"Or _maybe_ she lied and got caught," Sirius contributed.

"_Or maybe_ she's walking in right now listening to TWO THICK HEADED NUMBSKULLS TALK!!" Lily said, storming into the Common room. "_Who_ was the git that told the professor I could apparate?"

Remus stirred from his sleep. "Mmm… No, mommy, I wan' the tulips, not the roses, they smell like chicken, not pie."

Disgusted, Lily gave a shrudder of exasperation and stalked into the dorms.

"She's a walking time bomb, mate," James said.

"Yeah," Sirius replied. "She's the bomb, alright… an exceedingly good looking one at that."

James raised an eyebrow at his friend.

*~*~*~*~*

Lily stormed into the girls' dormitories, wand raised.

"_Destrucious Table!_" The desk crumpled into sawdust.

"Not enough. _Wingardium Leviosa!_" she shouted, raising a four-poster bed. Quite currently, she didn't care that she was defacing school property.

"_Plumessant!_" It dropped four feet with a loud _thump!_

"_Quiller Mayhemus!_" The ink splattered all over.

"_Destrucious! Destrucious! Destrucious!_" 

Evelyn walked in. "Lily? Are you alright?" she asked, eyeing the damage.

"Never mind," Lily said, waving her back as a pillow flipped itself inside out. "I'll put it all back to normal when I'm done."

*~*~*~*~*

__

Thump. Crash.

"Uh, what d'you suppose Evans' doing in there?" James asked, as a loud crashing noise came, followed by a crunching sound.

"I dunno," Sirius said blandly.

"Gee, do you think she's mad?" Remus asked sarcastically.

"Probably," Peter scurried in, changing back into human form.

"My, how difficult to figure out. How on _earth_ did you come across this conclusion, Peter?" James asked.

Peter turned slightly pink at this. "Because she's trashing our dormitories with magic."

"_What_?" Sirius asked.

"Well, I s'pose she's doing it to vent out all her anger," Remus said wisely.

"Most people could only trash one dorm at a time. Evans does it two at a time," James remarked to no one.

"I suppose she's using a Duplicate Action Charm to do it. Quite simple, actually," Remus encountered.

Lily walked out. "Well… That was fun," she said with the air of one who had just taken a stroll in the park.

"_Returnis Originalis_," she muttered, then a silvery spark shot out of the tip of her wand and traveled into the rooms. With that, she turned and left. 

*~*~*~*~*


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

(A/N) Thanks for the reviews, once again (This part is getting predictable, isn't it?). Onto my story…

*~*~*~*~*

"Miss Evans. Thank you for coming. I understand there was some sort of 'incident' in your dorms?"

Lily blushed. "Sorry, Professor, I was just a bit angry-"

Dumbledore held up a hand and she stopped. "I wish to ask you something regarding your abilities of apparating. How long have you been able to this?"

"For almost as long as I can remember. I just think of a place I want to go, and I'm suddenly there. I can't do it here, though, otherwise I'd never be late. Really, I can't control it. Whenever I try, it doesn't work. It just happens once in a while."

"Hmm. And you say you can't apparate here, correct?"

"Well, of course not. I read it, in _Hogwarts, A History_, no one can-"

"Try, Miss Evans," Dumbledore interrupted.

Lily bit her lip. _Think, Lily, think. Go to somewhere…_

She opened her eyes. She was the exact same spot as before, only she felt lighter. "See, professor? It didn't work."

Dumbledore was frowning. She had never seen him frown. "Au contraire, Miss Evans. Take a look in the mirror," he said softly.

Turning around, Lily glanced in the mirror. Her vision was slightly blurred for some reason, but there was no mistaking it; there was no reflection in the mirror.

"Professor?" her voice was now echoing. "What's happening?"

"Firstly, try to go back to your original state, please."

Lily tried to concentrate. It was almost as if she couldn't think, but it was becoming clearer and clearer, until she once more saw her reflection. "What happened, Professor?"

"You did not apparate, Miss Evans. It was the rearranging of your molecules that did it. Really, it can substitute apparation, but, as you stated before, one cannot apparate in or out of Hogwarts, so your molecules had nothing to do but to dissemble themselves. I'm surprised you managed to do that, in fact. It takes a strong, powerful, and skillful Seer to be able to do such in this castle, as we have many powerful charms guarding it."

"A Seer?" Lily asked faintly.

"Yes, Miss Evans. It is my belief that you are a Seer, an extremely powerful one, at that. This ability of yours- shifting the molecules of your body… it is a rare and valuable gift, even amongst Seers. I'm sure you've heard of Voldemort?"

Lily nodded, eager to hear more in spite of herself.

"He has many Seers on his side. And he wants more, as, I'm sure you know, that Seers all have strong abilities. He does not, however, have a Seer with the ability to shift molecules. It would be a useful weapon to him, you know. When one can shift their particles, they can transform into the facial features of any entity. A baby, an old man, an animal… anything. You, Miss Evans, have that gift. I doubt that it'll be long before he finds you."

Lily bit her lip. She didn't _want_ to be a Seer. She wanted to be Lily Evans, school prefect, with good grades, otherwise quite average. Not a _Seer_. And most certainly not a powerful one. And _definitely_ not one that the most feared Dark wizard was after.

"But professor, why can I do this?"

"Because, Lily, it was an old prophecy."

"_What_?"

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "Yes. There is an old prophecy that tells of a young girl, becoming the most powerful Seer ever. She eventually contributes to the ultimate fate of many, risking her life. However, this is only possible by one choice, and if she makes any other choice…"

"And you believe that I am the one in this prophecy? Why? I always thought that prophecies were written by people who were bored and had nothing better to do."

Dumbledore gave her a sad smile. "I don't usually believe in old prophecies written centuries ago either, Miss Evans, but… This prophecy that I speak of, it was not made by people. It was found in The Book."

"The Book?" Lily asked curiously.

"Yes. According to the tale, Godric Gryffindor possessed a book which told things to come in the future. It was passed down through his descendants, all of them using The Book for good, to help others and save them of their fate. But there was always the ninth page, which remained blank for years. Every other page was filled, except for that one. This much we have proof of. The Book constantly rewrote itself, as the choices of the person would make the prophecy different, but the page would always remain blank. So, when something finally appeared on the page, everyone was excited, expecting some great and new vision of the future. But, for the first time, the Book stated two fates. It said told of a girl, as I told you, who would have to make a choice at some point in her life, which would change the fate of many. One simple choice. They said that the girl would live in a time where fear and death was common, and she would have a chance to help save them all."

Lily frowned. "But still… Why do you believe that I am the one in the prophecy? There are probably a bunch of people who are fitting of that description."

"There was more. It went on to describe her… 'Eyes clear and green, dark red hair'. They were symbols, Lily. The eyes were supposedly the 'passageway to your soul', as people had once thought. The clearness was supposed to mean that she could see into _your_ soul, actually. The dark red hair… I can't recall, but it would be quite easy to check the book for that."

"You have it?" Lily asked breathlessly.

"No, actually, I don't. I wish I did. It would make life so much more refreshing. But a student, a direct descendant of Gryffindor in this school has the book."

"Who?" Lily asked.

Dumbledore sighed wearily. "That will come in time, Miss Evans. But first, I must tell you more of the supposed Seer's capabilities. She would be able to shift molecules, as you yourself can. She would be able to slow down molecules, or quicken them, thus either freezing them or exploding them. She could go into trances, during which she couldn't breathe. She would have the abilities to look into your soul, and she could see into the immediate future when someone close by was in danger. She would not be able to control them until she had perfected all of the skills. And she would be able to do one more thing most Seers were not capable of, but the Book didn't tell."

"But still… It could mean many people…"

"I have reason to believe it is you, Miss Evans," Dumbledore said heavily.

"And the choices… It wasn't very obvious. Even if I was the one in the prophecy, what choice? I could have made that choice already."

"Then you wouldn't need to worry of what comes, then, would you, Miss Evans?"

"Well, if it were to 'determine the fate of many' as you said, well, I should worry, shouldn't I? What if I had made the wrong choice?"

"There is no wrong choice, Miss Evans. There are only two choices, and one leads to a different path than another. And one has a more effective result than the other."

"So that would be the right one, then?"

"Perhaps I put it in the wrong way. Both are equally effective, only one will have a bigger impact, as it will change everything, whereas the other would keep it all the same. Neither is better. It all evens out to an ultimate fate, where it would be to save many and risk your own life, or have the life many have, and live."

"So in one choice I would die, and the other I would live?" Lily asked.

"It is more complex than that, Miss Evans. But yes, that _is_ part of it."

"Who owns the Book?"

"A student," the Headmaster answered vaguely.

"Which one?"

"Well, you know enough about the prophecy now for me to show you…" Dumbledore glanced warily at her. "You know him, Miss Evans."

"I do?"

Dumbledore pressed a small button, which acted as a messaging system. One for each room in the entire school, Lily realized, or at least all the ones that students or teachers would be in.

"Mr. Potter, would you please report to the Headmaster's office? And bring The Book with you."

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) Argh. I know, not that long. It gets better, so stay with me, okay?


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

(A/N) The usual… Thanks for your reviews!

*~*~*~*~*

"Mr. Potter, please report to the Headmaster's office, please. Bring the Book, also."

James looked up from a book he had been reading, startled. 'Bring the Book?' 

"Mr. Potter? Please report to my office at this time."

James shrugged, and disappeared into his dorm, rummaging through his trunk.

*~*~*~*~*

"Miss Evans I must ask you to try and span out your molecules, making you, more or less, invisible."

"Why?" she asked.

"Just do it, Miss Evans," Dumbledore said sharply. Lily was startled for a second; Dumbledore had rarely taken such a tone with his students.

"Umm… I'm not quite sure how to do this still."

"Relax, take a breath in, and exhale slowly. With every breath, your molecules spread."

Lily did as instructed.

"I ask you not to talk, Miss Evans, while I converse with Mr. Potter. When I give you permission, you may appear again. Just do the opposite."

Lily's vision was once again blurry. 

*~*~*~*~*

"Professor? You asked me to bring the Book?" James asked.

"Yes, Mr. Potter. May I see it?"

"Yeah, sure." James lifted out the heavy, dusty book.

"Still in good condition, I should hope?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yeah… I haven't opened it in a while."

"Good. Have you ever heard of the Prophecy of the Ninth Page?"

"Yeah… Hasn't everybody?" James shifted uncomfortably.

"Hmm. And you say you haven't studied the Book recently?"

"No, my dad wanted me to keep out of it, he said I was too young to understand… Blah, blah, blah, I kind of tuned out after that."

"Hmm." Dumbledore lifted the book onto his desk, then gingerly turned the pages. "Has your father ever made you study the Prophecy of the Ninth Page in detail?"

"Erm… Once, when I was four, or five… or six, maybe. My memory's still a bit fuzzy there."

"Can you recite from it?"

"What, the part where they describe the person?" James frowned. "Uh… 'Green eyes so clear' uh… 'Through the soul it can seek' something, something, something, uh… 'Forever searching for… er… the one that it keeps?' I really don't know, some sort of poem, it was, right?"

Dumbledore sighed, and read from the book,

"_A spirit of choices, _

The wandering soul,

The most melodic of voices,

A life full of woes.

Eyes so clear,

In your soul they shall seek,

A partner of fear,

Or a friend of the weak?

Transparent as glass,

Yet opaque as black waters,

Will it save lives so fast,

Or encourage the slaughters? 

One choice that is made,

Eternity of decisions,

In this hour lays,

A child of visions."

"Yeah, something like that… I think I remember… but it went on, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter. But I would recommend you read that on your own time."

"Right. So… Why did you want me to bring the Book?"

"Because… Miss Evans?"

Lily took a breath and appeared, next to James. "And that," she said finally, directing her speech at James, "Is how I apparate."

*~*~*~*~*

"I still don't get it. Why did you want me to bring the Book?"

"Miss Evans?"

"Umm… Well, I'm not quite clear about that either, professor. But I think… Because you think it's about me?"

"Yes. I believe that Miss Evans is the supposed Seer in the prophecy."

"But there's no proof, sir-"

"What color are your eyes, Miss Evans?"

"Green."

"Now, as I realize that you cannot control your powers yet, this may be a difficult task. But try, Miss Evans. Can you see into Mr. Potter's soul?"

"_What_?" James jumped back. "_No way_, not happening."

"But you don't believe her to be the Seer, Mr. Potter, so what are you worried about? Miss Evans? Proceed."

"But… doesn't it hurt?"

"Try avoiding to touch anything."

"_What_?" both Lily and James asked.

"Naturally, it may hurt one of you if Miss Evans touches anything, as it is… Well, just try it, alright?"

Lily sighed. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, as he said to the both of them, "Remember, there is always a method to my madness."

Lily nodded slightly. She took a breath and stared straight into James eyes, so that he couldn't _not_ look into hers. For a brief second, her eyes seemed to dilate, then come into focus again.

James felt a slight tingle in his head, just before he saw Lily collapse to the ground.

*~*~*~*~*

"_This_ is his soul?" Lily thought to herself.

"Evans?"

Lily jumped for a second. "You can hear me?" she asked.

"Er, yeah. I shouldn't be able to hear you, though. I think you're in my mind."

Lily turned around. She seemed to be in a blank white room, and two screens in the middle. Evidently, they were his eyes. 

"I'm coming back out."

*~*~*~*~*

"Well?" Dumbledore asked, as Lily suddenly seemed to wake.

"I was in his mind, not his soul. Didn't quite work," Lily said.

"Try again," Dumbledore said.

"_What_?" Lily asked. (A/N: They seem to say that a lot in this chapter, don't they?)

"Try again," Dumbledore repeated.

Lily bit her lip. She looked into James' eyes again, as if she was searching for something. A look of recognition dawned her face suddenly, and she once more lost all consciousness.

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) Sorry, it's short again. Oh well. I'll make the next few chapters longer next time.

To Come: James bothers Lily about what she saw in his soul, Lily vents out her anger again, dear old Snapey gets hexed, and Lily discovers her other powers. 

Till, then.

__


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

(A/N) You know the drill… Thanks to all reviewers.

Disclaimer: I forgot this in my other Chapters; What's mine is mine, what's J. K. 's is J. K. 's, got that? (Lily, MWPP, more people.)

*~*~*~*~*

"Evans, what did you see?" James demanded as they both rounded the spiral staircase down Dumbledore's office.

"Do you _need_ to know?"

"I may not be Dumbledore, so maybe I don't have that cool, calm, collective manner. In any case, I want to know what you saw, as I am not him, and did not let you get by with the lame excuse of 'I can't remember'."

Lily halted suddenly, sending James to an abrupt halt behind her, almost colliding into her.

"Do you _really_ want to know what I saw?"

"So you remember?"

"Of course I remember, you idiot. And I can guarantee you that you have more to worry about now than when I was blackmailing you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Figure it out yourself," she snapped, walking ahead of him.

*~*~*~*~*

Evans was going to tell him what she'd seen in his soul, even if he had to torture it out of her.

Lily interrupted James' thoughts, suddenly bursting in through the portrait hole.

"Hi, Lily!" Peter squeaked.

Lily's eyes flashed, and for a second, James thought that she was going to kill them all right there… or at least severely injure one of them.

"Hello, Peter. Do me a favor. Tell Potter that if that fifth year Sybil Trelawney makes any predictions, I would recommend he listen."

"I'm right here, Evans. I can hear you loud and clear."

Lily glared at him across the room. "You can do me a favor too, Potter. Die, so I don't have to bother killing you."

"Stingy, Evans," James said sarcastically.

"Forget it. I'm going," Lily snapped, slamming the door to the girls' dormitories.

"Well, then why the hell'd you have to go and ruin the peace and quiet?" James called after her.

The loud sound of splitting wood and his four poster bed half-protruding through the door answered him.

"She'd make a _spanking_ good Marauder," Sirius commented.

"Ha, ha. She'll pay for that one, if Filch doesn't find out first, that is."

"Come on, she's probably just in a bad mood," Remus said.

"I tell you she's evil, but _no one_ believes me. Thus, she plays the old 'blackmail' card. Then, I tell you _again_, but _nooo_, it's 'Come on, she's probably in a bad mood'. Now what does she do? Demolish our dorms… _again_." 

"James, if you were a girl, you'd be fainting right now."

"Funny, Sirius," James snapped.

Lily stormed out. "Where's Severus?"

"Why? New love interest, Evans?"

Lily threw him a sour look. "Ohhh, you'll pay for that one… _Who_ has a couple thousand photos of the Marauders… _bathing_ together in her dorm?" 

As Lily stalked out, a dark look crossed Sirius' face. "James is right. She _is_ evil." He thus began drawing a cartoon of Lily with horns and a forked tail.

*~*~*~*~*

"So are you going to Hogsmeade, Lily?" Sirius asked.

"I don't suppose why not. Why?"

"Because. Would you like to go with me?"

James coughed, something that sounded oddly like, "_Loser_."

"Not all girls swoon at your feet, Sirius."

"Please? With sugar? And a cherry on top?"

James coughed again, this time sounding more like, "_Desperate_."

"I'm allergic to cherries," Lily said blankly.

"You're not giving me an answer."

"Yes, I did. _NO_! I know why you're doing this. 'Oh, let's get Lily to help us in our animagus project. What great fun!' Well, _excuse_ me, if I'd rather not participate in illegal acts of underage wizardry and probably a ton of other things!" Lily snapped, catching the attention of a lot of others in the room.

"Pipe down, will you?" Remus asked.

"How _did_ she know what we were going to do, anyway?" Sirius asked.

"Because, you said so…didn't you?" Lily said.

"Uh, no."

"But I heard you say-" a look of recognition dawned on her face. "Excuse me, I have to see Dumbledore now."

*~*~*~*~*

"Professor!"

Dumbledore looked up from the papers scattered across his desk. "Miss Evans?"

"Remember when you said that there were other things that I could do?"

"Yes."

"I think I read Sirius Black's mind."

"Do you know this for a fact?"

"Yes."

Dumbledore swiveled around in his chair to look out the window. "Miss Evans, can you read _my_ mind?"

Lily caught her breath. "Y-yours, Professor?"

"I don't doubt you, Miss Evans."

Lily stared at the Headmaster, then finally met his gaze. "Yes, sir," she said softly. 

And then it happened. A rush of thoughts paraded into her mind, making her head hurt and her blood to seemingly pound against her ears.

"_Help us…_"

"_Make a choice…_"

"_Choose!_"

"_You could be great, join us…_"

__

"No! Don't you care about the rest of us?"

"_She can help me more greatly…_"

"_She'd never join you willingly._"

"_Choose!_"

"_Choose!_"

"_Make your choice!_"

"Miss Evans?"

"No!" she choked out, her white knuckles gripping the edge of the Headmaster's desk. "Stay away! I don't want to hear you!"

"Miss Evans?"

Lily blinked. "Professor?"

"Were you able to read my mind?"

"No," she said quietly. "But millions of voices… they kept on calling to me. They told me to choose. But I'm not sure what."

"What else did you hear, Miss Evans?"

"Someone kept on telling me I could be great. Someone else telling me I shouldn't listen and more voices I couldn't make out."

If Lily didn't know better, she would have thought that the look in Dumbledore's eyes was worry and fear, but when she glanced at him again, it was just worry.

"Very well, Miss Evans. I shall send for you when I need you. You are dismissed."

*~*~*~*~*

"Morning, Mudbloods!"

Lily turned to see Snape. "Severus. Hello," she said cooly, returning to her breakfast.

"Hey, I was talking to you. Manners, mudblood."

"Good for you," Lily answered, not bothering to turn around.

"Hey! I when I talk to you, _talk back_!"

Lily finally turned. "I _was _talking back. Braindead."

"What did you call me?"

Lily ignored Severus. Instead, she turned to her friend. "Evelyn, could you pass the milk?"

"Thanks."

Lily took the carton of milk and dumped it on an unsuspecting Snape.

"I called you braindead, okay?"

Snape glared at her. 

"That was a good one, Evans," James said, behind Snape.

"Thank you," she answered crisply.

"Are you ever going to tell me what you saw?"

"I don't believe you're in any position to be asking that, Potter," Lily replied.

Snape's calculating eyes appeared to be figuring out something. "What're you talking about?" he asked slowly.

"None of your business," Lily and James said at the same time.

"Something's going on."

"If there _is_, it's probably in your hair. Have you even bothered washing it in the last seven years?" 

"Shut up, Black. You're on his list next, you know."

Lily glared at Snape, who glared back. "You, Evans, are worthless to the Dark Lord, but he'll kill you anyway."

Lily's hand darted forward, and Snape suddenly was pushed back to the Slytherin's table, as if by an invisible force.

"What was that?" James asked.

"I have no idea," Lily answered, staring at her hands.

"You just made Snape go back to the Slytherin table in less than a second! And all you did was jerk your hand at him! Don't tell me you have no idea," Sirius said, looking at Lily.

"I-it just happened, alright? Now- just-just go _away_, will you? Leave me alone!"

"Whoa. Remind me never to mess with _her_ when she's waken up on the wrong side of the bed," Sirius let out a low whistle.

*~*~*~*~*

"Professor!"

"Miss Evans? You came here yesterday. Is something wrong?"

Lily let out a shaky breath. "I somehow pushed Severus Snape to the Slytherin table by just raising a hand."

"Not surprising. Continue."

"Er- that's it."

"Telekinesis, Miss Evans. Quite ordinary. Of course, your skill at it will increase along with the years. Anything else?"

"No."

"Good. Have a nice day."

Lily nodded, glancing at Dumbledore before making her way out the door. For a second, she heard a faint voice saying, "_Help us! Choose!_" 

Quickly, she broke eye contact with the Headmaster. Somehow, those voices were connected to Dumbledore, she thought, as she rounded the staircase. And she would find out.

*~*~*~*~*

"Evans, _what did you see_?" James asked, as Lily walked down a long corridor. She appeared unaware that he was next to her.

"I saw the faces of-" Lily froze. "Nothing. I didn't see anything."

James quickened his pace. "You saw the faces of who?"

"No one. Nothing. Forget it. You're better of not knowing."

"No, I'm not. Tell me. Who did you see?"

"Drop the subject and leave me alone, Potter. Besides, I don't _need_ to tell you."

"Yes you do. What did you see?"

"Nothing. Go away, will you?"

"No."

Lily sighed. "I saw the faces of-" her voice was drowned out by a sudden crowd of first and second years, rushing out of class. Lily stopped. 

"Well, at least you don't know." Lily then turned and left before James could stop her.

*~*~*~*~*

"Why does _she_ know something about me that I don't?" James muttered, chopping up ginger roots.

"Because. I dunno, really. What happened, anyway?" Sirius asked, throwing in hippogriff talons in his potion.

"She looked into my soul. And now she won't tell me what she saw," James answered, stirring his puce-colored potion.

"So?"

"_So?_" James half shouted, waving a spoon back and forth, spraying some students with his potion. "I'll tell you… I don't like the fact that Evans knows something about me that _I_ don't! That's what!"

"Uh, James?"

"What?"

"Your potion dripped on everyone. Look."

James turned to see half the Slytherin table growing enormous warts, designed with little yellow daisies on each large wart.

"Oops," he shrugged as Snape rushed to the professor, a particularly nasty looking one swelling up on his nose.

"Oh, _real_ nice, Potter," Narcissa Colebra shot at him, as she watched Malfoy with distaste. "_Now_ what am I going to do with my boyfriend?"

"Do I really care?"

In the end, forty-five points were removed from the Gryffindor house, but it was all worth it to see half the Slytherins covered in swelling warts with daisies on them. It was particularly fun to see them running around classes like that, as the Potions professor couldn't find an antidote. 

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) Okay, it's long, this time!!! Well, Snape didn't exactly get hexed, but… of well.

To Come: Will James _ever _find out what Lily saw? The Spring Break nears, and all the students rush over the last details of the Ball. Lily takes a break to go home, and James mulls over what she could have meant by "faces of". Lily, meanwhile, wonders about the voices she heard in Dumbledore's office. Petty makes a brief appearance. 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

(A/N) Thanks for the reviews, as always. Today's my Birthday! Yay! (Sorry about the personal announcement.)

Disclaimer: J.K. owns everything you recognize.

*~*~*~*~*

The next few weeks passed uneventfully, with a few trips to Madame Pomfrey, due to two certain rivals who shall remain nameless. (*cough* James and Lily *cough*). Soon, everyone was wrapped up in the frenzy of last minute shopping for the ball, that Lily had very little time to ponder upon what she had heard in Dumbledore's mind, and James and the other Marauders had other things to… preoccupy them.

*~*~*~*~*

"No. Absolutely not. I refuse to do this," Lily said, folding her arms.

"_You_, m'dear, don't have a choice in the matter," James answered.

"As if. Who is the blackmailer, and who is the blackmailee?

"What's that?"

"Never mind."

"Anyway, come _on_."

"This is how you treat all your dates, Potter?"

"No. Please note, _you_ aren't my date. Now move it, Evans."

Lily stayed rooted on the spot. "I can't see you, Potter, but that won't stop me from giving you oh so many injuries."

"Really?" Lily was disgusted to sound a hint of amusement in his voice. 

"Let go of me _now_, or else I'll scream."

"No one will hear you. They're all at Hogsmeade. Which, by the way, is where _we're_ going."

Lily finally relented and allowed her (invisible) 'kidnapper' to lead her to the one-eyed witch.

"_Potter_! _Kindly_ allow me to at least go in _myself_."

"O_kay_. Touchy."

"I am _not_ touchy."

James grinned. "High-strung, then."

"You-you- _person!_"

James grinned again. "Not too big on insults today, are you Evans?" he asked, slipping off the invisibility cloak.

"I-I-"

"_Now_, you are going to go help us out, as the Marauders need help, and then Sirius will owe me ten galleons, for actually _agreeing_ to fetch you here."

Lily glared at him. "_No_, I'm not. I am going to go into there, and then I'm going to-"

"Evans, just shut up, will you?"

*~*~*~*~*

Quite a while later, when Lily had joined her friends at a shop for clothes, she found herself wondering if she would have been better off with the Marauders. She had a reason to believe that _they_, at least, wouldn't have bored her to death with the talk of clothes and hair.

Evelyn and Bella had insisted bringing- correction, _dragging _her to all the shops that sold trendy dress robes. Their method was to give her no choice in the matter. Similar to James' method of getting her into Hogsmeade. Bella had also chosen to get a dress to go along with it. 

"Why would I need a dress with a dress robe?" Lily asked blankly.

"Well, you know, tie-on dress robes are all the rage in France nowadays."

Upon the still blank expression Lily wore, Bella added hastily, "Alright, perhaps you don't. Anyway, see, you wear _this_ underneath, and _this_ tied over, and _this_ is-"

Lily brushed off her friend, who was sporting a few dresses and tie-on robes with an open front on her arms.

"No, really, Bella, I'm fine this way. I'll just go dressed in muggle wear."

Bella and Evelyn looked horrified, positively horrified. "_Muggle_ wear? Lily, darling, are you absolutely mad, or is it just a momentary lapse of sanity?"

"Is there really anything wrong with wearing muggle wear?" Lily asked, shielding her eyes against the bright sun as they walked out the shop.

"Well- It's just that… Oh, Lily, you'll be the only _one_!" Evelyn exclaimed.

"Relax. The two of you sound like your pet dog just died. It'll be fine to don muggle clothing. You two do it," Lily answered.

"Sure, on casual days. But this is the _Ball_, Lily," Bella said exasperatingly.

"So?"

"Even on casual days, you don't dress casually," Evelyn pointed out.

Lily glanced at the school uniform she was wearing. A dark navy blue skirt, a white blouse, a sleeveless V-neck sweater (vest, whatever) with the Hogwarts crest embroidered on it over the blouse, and white knee-high socks.

"What's wrong with wearing the school uniform? Isn't that what it's for? You know, wearing?" she asked, crossing the street with her friends over to the Three Broomsticks.

"It's just that… Well, you seem so…"

"So what?"

"I don't know… School-girly," Evelyn said, at the same time Bella said, "Preppy."

Lily laughed at her friends. "Oh, it'll be fine, no one'll have a problem with me wearing muggle clothes to the Ball. I'll bet you anything that they won't even notice what I'm wearing."

"_Still_, you really don't mean you want to stick out so much, do you?"

"I like individuality," Lily said simply, swilling around her Butterbeer.

"But- fine. We'll try and see if Dumbledore'll allow it to be a muggle-clothed Ball, for once. The things we do for friendship," Evelyn sighed. 

"Whatever," Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm going… um, somewhere."

"Where? Let's go," Bella got up.

"No! I'm, uh, meeting… someone." That wasn't entirely a lie.

"Who? A date?"

"Uh… Yeah," Lily nodded, rushing outside before her friends could bombard her with more questions.

*~*~*~*~*

"Where did they ask me to go?" Lily muttered to herself.

"The Shrieking Shack," James answered.

"Tha- Oh, it's you."

"Yeah, who'd you think it was?"

Lily shrugged, following the sound of James' footsteps.

"Do you want me to help you or not?" she hissed, trying not to appear suspicious as Snape's eyes followed her.

"Okay, okay."

"Can't you take off that cloak? People are starting to think that I'm talking to myself.

"Dissaparate. You've done it before," James' reply came, somewhere to her right.

"I wasn't. It was the shifting of my particles. Substitution apparation, you could call it."

"Whatever. Do that."

"But-"

"Just do it."

"Fine." Lily closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. Then, she was gone.

*~*~*~*~*

"Shhh! Someone's coming! What's the password?"

Lily frowned at the door. "How about 'I've been studying hexes an awful lot lately, and I have powers beyond my control'?"

"Let her in, Peter. It's just Lily," Sirius said.

"Hi," she greeted curtly, as the door swung open and she was admitted in. "Now, remind me why I'm here."

"James, take off the cloak," Remus instructed wearily.

James did as ordered. "Show her."

Lily frowned. "Show me what?"

James 'popped', and in his place was a stag.

"We introduce Mr. Prongs," Sirius said grandly. "Now show her our problem, Prongsie-boy."

The stag snorted, blowing out of its nostrils, then pushed Sirius with his antlers.

"Okay, I won't call you that. Just go."

James- or Prongs, rather, gave another 'pop'. Instead of, James, it was half of him, his head with antlers, his two human feet, with two of his stag feet in the back.

"The way we figure it, he's going to be stuck like that, sooner or later. It lasts longer every time, you see, and we're afraid that it may start on us, too. Can you fix it? Any particular charm…?" Sirius asked quickly, as James suddenly turned back to normal.

"No," Lily snapped. "I told you that it was dangerous. I recommend telling teachers or Madame Pomfrey."

"You're sure?" Remus asked hopefully.

"Well, there is _one_, but McGonagall would have my head on a platter if she caught wind of it."

"_Please_?" Peter asked pitifully.

"It's _illegal_," Lily replied.

"Come _on_!"

"_Please_ help us!"

"It's for the good of us all, you know!"

"Please!"

In this brief second, Lily made direct eye contact with James.

"_Evans, what did you see?_"

She shruddered for a second. "Nothing. I saw nothing."

"What're you talking about?" Sirius asked.

James was looking at her oddly. "You heard that?"

"Heard what?" Lily lied.

"Never mind. Just do the spell, okay?"

Lily sighed. "_Returnis Optionalisus._"

"See? Now that wasn't so hard," James said.

"Yeah, whatever."

James looked at her oddly again, and, once more, making direct eye contact.

Lily gasped and clutched her side, as her vision blurred and she saw something else. She couldn't breath, it was suffocating her…

__

A sudden flash of green brought a piercing scream, cruel laughter, and a… rat.

Lily squeezed her eyes shut. Thus, breaking the direct gaze. Gasping for air, she inhaled.

"Evans, you alright?"

"Perfectly fine," she managed to pant.

All four boys were staring at her. "What?" she asked in a breathy voice "You look like someone died."

"You were shaking like mad, and you didn't seem to be able to breath," Sirius sad worriedly.

"I wasn't," she mumbled.

James continued to look at her strangely.

'_She could go into trances, during which she couldn't breath… She could see into the immediate future…_' Lily remembered Dumbledore saying.

"Potter?"

"Yeah?"

"Stay away from green lights," Lily said, moving out the door, carefully avoiding anyone's gaze.

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) Ugh. I only covered three scenes. Oh well. To come is what I had last time, as I didn't really fulfill those…


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

(A/N) So you're _still_ reading my fic? Wow, I'm flattered. Thanks for all the reviews! Note to one of my reviewers, "gigi": James and Lily never _had_ a date to Hogsmeade. Sorry, If I confused you there. James and the rest of the Marauders just needed her to fix a little Animagi mishap, and, as they figured she'd never do it willingly, they had James get her to go to Hogsmeade, where they later brought her to the Shrieking Shack. Got that? Now, on with the story.

Disclaimer: Is this necessary? I own the plot. 

*~*~*~*~*

Evans was an odd one, that was for sure. 'Stay away from green lights'? James shook his head and frowned in 

thought. A few girls in the library giggled as he threw them a friendly glance. Lily didn't do that. She didn't giggle or blush in general, and she was never impressed by his great Transfiguration talents in class. It rather dismayed James, but part of him had to admire her for that. The non-existent part of him, that is. 

*~*~*~*~*

"A _muggle_ clothed ball?" McGonagall asked loudly.

Dumbledore beamed at her. "Yes, a rather extraordinary idea, isn't it? Remind me, wherever did you get it?"

"Some Gryffindor sixth years," McGonagall mumbled.

"Grand, really. Now our young witches and wizards can experience a night through muggle eyes. Oh yes, Minerva, a grand idea! I shall announce it at lunch."

McGonagall stared at the Headmaster. There was only one explanation for this. Only one. Albus Dumbledore had finally gone loony.

"Albus…" she started, trying to talk sense into the aloof man. "Surely- surely some students will be… less than enthusiastic to participate in such activities? Are you not forgetting that some are from families that don't have muggle clothing?"

"Oh, not to worry, Minerva. I shall take care of it all," Dumbledore said, tapping his nose knowingly.

Professor McGonagall gave a heavy sigh as the potentially insane Headmaster skipped (_yes_, skipped, not walked, skipped) down the staircase, whistling a cheery melody.

*~*~*~*~*

A _muggle_ clothed ball? James thought in wonder, glancing around him. 

Most of the students had the same expression as him; wonderous and curious, but nonetheless excited. Except for the Slytherins, that is. A great number of them had turned a pale, nasty, greenish color. Common knowledge of Slytherins and their "pure-blood" preferences proved to be true, as many of them showed disdain for anything related to muggles. James wondered how they would handle a muggle clothed Ball. He then thought of a sobering prospect, something very unsettling. As he himself was a "pure-blood", he didn't have much formal muggle wear. 

*~*~*~*~*

Lily buried her head in her arms. Bella and Evelyn had come up with this plan. They had confronted McGonagall, who had told Dumbledore. Though no one connected her with this adjustment, she was still embarrassed all the same. There would be a limit to all magic used by the students, apparently. A few of the muggle borns were whispering excitedly to their friends, she'd noticed. Well, at least she wouldn't have to worry on what she would wear, as she, unlike some students, knew perfectly well how muggles dressed formally. But her friends didn't. Lily groaned. Now she'd have to help _them_ decide what to wear. _Great_.

*~*~*~*~*

At breakfast the next morning, an owl swooped down and dropped a letter and a small parcel at Lily's table. The letter read:

__

'Lily Dearest,

We're so proud of you, being made a prefect and all. We hope you're having fun. However, as your ball is not due until the last week of spring break, we were hoping you would choose to spend the first week and a half at home. We understand perfectly if you'd rather not. Just in case you wish to remain at school, we decided to send a few "gifts" that you might want. I thought it might go well with the dress your grandmother gave you for Christmas. Do take a picture and send it to us (Both our way, and the magic way, please). 

Love,

Mum and Dad'

Lily gave a gasp of surprise when she saw a necklace, with a tiny, delicate, lily of a pastel white on the petals and a pastel green, slender, stem, made of smooth sandstone, as a pendant. Matching hair clips came with it. 

"It's almost as if they knew what I'd wear," Lily murmured, putting on the necklace. She then picked up a quill and scribbled down a hasty thanks, saying she'd go home by Tuesday.

*~*~*~*~*

Mrs. Evans clapped her hands together in delight as she had her daughter whirl around for her, wearing what she'd picked out for the Spring Ball. 

"Wonderful! Your grandmother knew what she was doing when she sent this!"

Nearby, Petunia sulked. As usual, her sister was the center of all attention, all because she was a little freak.

"It's not _that_ great," she said.

Lily paused to glance at her sister. "You know who you sound like? Potter. 'It's not _that_ great'," she mimicked. "You should marry him. Great couple you two would make. Both of you hate me, don't you?"

Mrs. Evans pursed her lips. "Now, Lily, that wasn't very nice."

"Sorry, mum, but-"

"Alright, that's enough. Now tell me. You tell me that there's someone escorting you to the Ball? Er, James, you said his name was? What's he like? Is there anything… er, going on between you two?"

"Mo_ther_, he's only doing the Opening Dance with me! I hate him. He hates me. We're barely on a first name basis with each other."

"Now Lily-"

"Okay, okay, _okay_. I _strongly dislike_ him. He _strongly dislikes _me. Honestly!"

"Now go on, tell me more about your Ball," Mrs. Evans nodded.

"Well, there's not much to tell. The Great Hall is _beautifully_ decorated, though. Um, after the Opening dance, I have a dance with Sirius Black, one of Potter's friends. He's better than James is, though. Sirius promised about a dozen other girls a dance, too, so after him, I'll be quite the wallflower."

"Not if I can help it," her mother said firmly. "It's time for a change, Lily dear. My friend Iris, she's good with make-up and hair, really. She did Petunia, and look! She's been dating a nice man for almost two months now!"

"You're right mum," Lily murmured, glancing at her sister again. "She _did_ do a good job on Petunia. She looks like a horse instead of a mule now."

"_Lily!_"

"Sorry, mum."

"It's alright, dear," Mrs. Evans said fondly. "Now, about you. You're a bit… plain. You already have a classic face, so now all we've got to do is bring a little personality into you. You have a 'classic beauty', as they call it…"

*~*~*~*~*

James chewed his lip. 

Evans had seen… faces in his soul. Faces of what? And of what significance? _She_ obviously thought that it was important. And earlier in the Common Rooms… 'If Sybil makes any predictions, I would recommend to listen,' she had said. Sybil Trelawney? She was a flaky Ravenclaw fifth year who made false predictions, everyone knew that. So why had Lily told him to listen? It made no sense at all. James shook his head. He rolled off his bed and took out his trunk, getting out The Book. It was time to restudy the Prophecy of the Ninth Page again.

*~*~*~*~*

Albus Dumbledore sighed wearily.

Lily Evans had _truly_ read his mind. Into one of the deepest chambers of life. And he knew perfectly what she had heard. Voices. He chuckled slightly. The girl must have been confused to hear voices instead of thoughts. She was most definitely the one in the Prophecy. After all, no one could actually hear those voices unless they were a powerful Seer. He himself couldn't hear those voices, but he knew they were there. Just waiting to be heard. It wasn't a problem that she had heard the voices. But if she really _listened_ to them. Which voices had she heard? Or had she heard them all? 

Dumbledore sighed again, this time out of pity. Pity. That was what Dippet had felt for Riddle. But Tom hadn't heard voices. Lily had. Perhaps Lily had heard the good voices. But there was an equal chance she had heard the evil. Yes, Albus Dumbledore pitied Lily Evans. She was a good student, but she was also very young, too young to have such choices forced onto her. But he wouldn't _show_ her pity. Pity was a weakening factor. Riddle would not show her pity or mercy if he met her. He would show her power. _He_, Albus Dumbledore, had pity to show, but he wouldn't show it. Riddle had no pity to show. He had the power to show mercy, though. 

*~*~*~*~*

Lily tried to rack up a memory of what she had heard in Dumbledore's mind. Many voices. They were trying to persuade her to… _what_ exactly were they persuading her to do?

Some had sounded comforting, and familiar. Others had been cold and harsh. But both kinds of voices had told her to "choose". Choose what, exactly?

*~*~*~*~*

Lily Evans was the one in the Prophecy.

James now knew this for a fact. And he also knew that she wouldn't be able to handle it if Voldemort was after her. 

James laughed bitterly out loud. _If_? _If_ Voldemort was after her? That was pretty ridiculous. In fact, he wouldn't have been surprised if Voldemort was after her at that very second. She was safe at Hogwarts, for sure. 

Facts hit him like a rock in the stomach. Lily wasn't _at_ Hogwarts. She was at home. 'Home' would be the easiest place for Voldemort to strike. But he wouldn't. That much James knew. Why? He had no idea. But he did know that she would still be safe at her 'home'. Until how long? Until she _felt_ safe. _That_ was when Voldemort would strike. When she felt the safest. 

"Why do _I_ know all this?" James asked out loud. "_She_ should know this." But then, she didn't come from a wizard family. If she did, she would have known about the Prophecy. She would have a better idea of what was after her.

"Why do I suddenly care about Evans' welfare?"

__

'Because you have a heart. Thank you.'

James nearly jumped. That wasn't his voice in his mind. It was Evans'.

*~*~*~*~*

Lily flicked a wisp of stray hair away from her face.

She had somehow been able to hear someone without trying. Voices. She was hearing voices. And she was talking back.

"I'm going insane," Lily murmured. There had been something familiar about the voice. It had wondered why it cared about her welfare. She had heard the voice somewhere. Almost every day in her life, it felt.

'Evans'. The voice had called her 'Evans'. The only people that would call her Evans were professors and Potter. Potter…

*~*~*~*~*

"Hey, Prongsie-boy."

James looked up suddenly to see Sirius. "Uh, hi?"

"What're you reading?"

"What? This?"

"Yeah. It looks older and dustier than all the books in the Restricted Section of the library combined," Sirius said.

"It's… Uh… Something I checked out a few days ago…" James lied.

"Sure, whatever. McGonagall wants to see you about the Ball, you know. In the Great Hall."

"Great."

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) Not _too_ long. 

To Come: Once again, everyone begins to think more and more. Lily comes back to Hogwarts beautiful (cliché, I know). James fights a few… er, _thoughts_ about Lily's new found beauty. McGonagall gets paranoid, fretting about the Ball (Not a really big part of the chapter). It's going to be a bit short, as I want the Ball to have it's own chappie.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

(A/N) Hi! I'm back! I may be posting the chapters a little less often, as Spring Break's ended, and I have a _lot_ of projects. (Strange… No homework, but five projects. I'm done with two!) Sorry, I had to add that little tidbit of my life. Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I own the plot, and Evelyn & Bella. Umm… J.K. owns everything else.

*~*~*~*~*

"Potter!" McGonagall snapped while pacing the room.

"Yes?" James asked uncertainly.

"Miss Evans is home for the next few weeks."

"I realize that," James answered.

"Don't talk back. Because of this, you and your partner will have less time for preparation than the rest of the prefects."

"I realize that."

"_Potter_!"

"Sorry, ma'am."

"Anyway, thus being said, I will need the two of you to practice together more often."

"_What_?" James asked. Obviously, he wasn't looking forward to the idea.

"Fine, if you'd like to ruin the entire Ball, fine by me, Potter. But you will be looking at a hundred points from Gryffindor," McGonagall answered, her mouth in a taut line.

"A _hundred_? Professor, aren't you blowing this a bit out of proportion? I mean, it's just the Opening Dance with her, not the whole ruddy Ball!"

"Excuse me? Are you questioning me?" McGonagall peered at him.

"No, not at all. I just think it's a little extreme. We both know all the steps, really. It'll be fine."

"You and your friends won't be trying anything…_ funny_, will you?" 

"Uh, no," James answered quickly. Too quickly. 

McGonagall sighed. "Fine. But you and Miss Evans will have to catch up quickly on any new steps we learn. Should I find any pranks pulled, I will personally ensure that you and the rest of your little friends have detention until you graduate. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Potter?"

James grinned. "Crystal."

*~*~*~*~*

"Lily, you look great!"

"Shut _up_!" Lily said, turning around to see Evelyn and Bella squealing in excitement.

"Well, you look so… _different_," Bella stated.

"Let's see, I've heard that one six times, today. I heard 'You look great!' about fifteen times, and 'Wow!' about twenty. Anyone want to take a bet on which'll be the highest at the end of the day?" Lily asked sarcastically, taking out an imaginary note pad and pen.

"Whatever you say, Lily, dear. Wait until the _Ball_, you'll be the center of attention!"

"I was afraid of that," Lily grumbled, reaching for a jelly doughnut.

*~*~*~*~*

Lily Evans was beautiful.

James caught himself before he tripped over Peter. He had heard the words, "Lily Evans" and "Beautiful" in the same sentence.

Sure, she had always been a bit… _pretty_, but never was she 'beautiful'. 

"Has anyone seen Evans?" James asked Sirius.

"Yeah," Sirius got a wistful, dreamy look on his face. "I've seen her."

"Sirius? Snap out of it!" James demanded.

"Wha- oh, right. She's- uh, she's… somewhere."

"Right. Be vague. _Where is she_?"

"Behind you, Potter," a new voice said.

Sirius began stuttering. "Uh, hi, Lily. You look-"

"Don't even start, Black. You wanted to see me, Potter?" she asked sweetly as James wheeled around.

"Evans." He avoided looking at her face. But then, if he avoided looking at her face, where _was_ he supposed to look?

"So you know my last name. We have achieved that. Continue, please."

"McGonagall wanted to see you," he said giving up and looking into her eye.

Lily got a misty look on her face, and seemed to see right through him.

"Evans? McGonagall. Wants. To. See. You. Right. Now."

Lily shook her head. "Wha-? Oh, right. Sorry." She turned and left.

*~*~*~*~*

"And she was _beautiful._"

"Not especially," James threw a tennis ball at the wall.

"Her eyes are so… entrancing, I can't believe I never noticed before," a boy continued.

"Oh yeah, king of the articulates over here," James muttered.

"Her hair is auburn, but it's prettier."

"From entrancing to pretty. Lovely vocabulary change," James said.

"She's just so beautiful, and so… she's just so _sophisticated_, all of a sudden."

"Once again back to the long syllables," James added.

"She's beautiful."

"You said that," James pointed out. But he had to admit, Lily _was_ beautiful. 

'_No, she's not. Evans is not beautiful.'_

'You're right. What was I thinking?'

'On second thought, her eyes are really deep.'

'You dolt!'

'Sorry.'

'But you're right, she does have nice eyes.'

'I told you so. She changed a little, didn't she?'

'Yeah…'

"Arrgh! Stop it! Get… Out… Of… My… Head! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" James was hitting himself on the head.

"Potter?" James stopped hitting himself long enough to look at the speaker. Evans. Of course.

James straightened slightly. "Evans. Did you see McGonagall?"

"Yeah, she said that we need to catch up on a few steps of the dancing. Are you okay? I mean…" Lily gestured towards the heavy Transfiguration textbook James had been hitting himself with.

"Oh. Right. Uh, that's nothing."

"I'm sure. Anyway, we have another rehearsal tomorrow, as an individual practice for half an hour, then one with everyone else, starting at nine in the morning. Got that?"

"Uh, yeah, I know," James nodded slightly.

"Potter?"

"What?" James asked; he was getting a queasy feeling in the stomach.

"Are you sure you're alright? You look sick," Lily shifted her books. "Not that I care, anyway."

"I'm fine. Uh, see you tomorrow, then."

"Yeah. Until then, Potter," Lily nodded, glancing at him once more before leaving.

"Hey, Evans?"

"What?" Lily stopped, turning around.

"Uh… Never mind."

"No really, what?"

"Never mind." James shook his head. He was pretty sure that it had been her in his head a few days ago, but then, maybe he was just hearing things.

*~*~*~*~*

"Lily! Over here! Come over here!" Sirius called.

Lily glanced over her shoulder, but changed her mind and joined her friends walking down to the Lake.

"Hi," she greeted.

"You look great," Remus said.

Evelyn and Bella laughed. 

"What?" he asked.

"Lily's taking bets on how many times she's going to hear that," Evelyn informed him.

"Fifty-five," Sirius said promptly. "Here's a… knut."

"Feeling cheap today, aren't we?" Lily asked, but took the knut anyway.

"But you _do _look great," Sirius added.

"Not a bad act for you, Evans," James nodded slightly.

"Gee, thanks ever so much, Potter. Coming from you, it's the compliment of the century," Lily said sarcastically. Brushing a stray strand of hair back, she glanced out the window. "Lovely weather we're having, isn't it? I _love_ spring!"

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "That's Lily for you. Loves spring, she does. Nothing gets her down."

Lily laughed, something that made James shift uneasily. "That's right. Nothing gets me down. Not even _you_, Potter."

*~*~*~*~*

"Wonderful! You all make me so proud!" Professor McGonagall wiped a tear.

Some of the prefects were staring in a bewildered way at their professor. 

"You all shall be _wonderful_ at the Ball! Those individual lessons really _did_ work!"

"I think she's lost her marbles," a Ravenclaw near Lily murmured.

"I agree."

Lily glanced at James, who seemed to be deep in thought.

"Hey, Potter?"

Startled, James turned at her voice. "What?"

"You were thinking."

"Yeah. So?"

"Don't. You look different when you think," Lily grinned.

"I'm always thinking."

"Sure."

"I am!"

"Sure!"

"What? You think that I don't think?"

"You said it, not me," Lily answered. "So, what _were_ you thinking about, anyway?"

"Nothing," James answered stiffly.

"Meaning something."

"I am entitled to have my own thoughts."

"Not in this school," Lily replied.

"I won't tell you what I was thinking until you tell me what you saw."

"I see many things. I see flowers, I see people. I see many, many things. So specify," Lily said, knowing perfectly well what he was talking about.

"Out with it, Evans."

Lily's smile was completely gone. "You _really_ want to know?"

"Yes."

"I saw people. Some I know, some I don't. I saw millions of people. I think they're all the people you've ever seen in your life, from your friends to the lady down at the bagel place. They were calling out to you, but you didn't seem to hear them. I also saw me."

"_What_ are you talking about, Evans?"

Lily ignored his question. "Then, I saw a black cloak on the floor behind them. There was a wand in it. Eleven inches, mahogany. It was stuck in a large rock of some sort, then it grew into a tree, and a phoenix was on it. A blue phoenix."

"Uh, Evans? Phoenixes are red."

Lily ignored him. "The phoenix was singing, but then someone killed it with a curse. The cloak became larger and larger, until it covered everything. And somehow…" Lily paused, tilting her head, "Somehow, all the people disappeared, and all that was left was a field of wheat, and a reaper, singing a song, too, only it wasn't the same as the phoenix's. He was smiling slightly. It was sunny, completely sunny, and sweltering hot, but the reaper wasn't sweating. Then a piece of paper fell down at my feet. There was only one word on it: POTTER. Then, everything became dim and black. The reaper was still smiling, but only now, he was on a river, in a long, narrow, canoe."

"Evans?"

Lily's voice had become hollow, as if she couldn't hear him. "There were small glimmers in the black water, it seemed like the lost souls of everyone I had seen before. Then, I saw a light above. A bird, a dove, it dropped something over the reaper, a flower. The reaper picked it up and tried to destroy it, but it wouldn't work, for some reason. Then…"

"And then?" James looked at her.

Lily's eyes suddenly closed, then opened again. 

"And then?" James asked.

"And then what, Potter? What are you talking about?"

"You were saying that you saw-"

"I told you _that_?" Lily clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Yeah. Didn't you?"

Lily frowned. "Forget I said anything. Really. How far did I get?"

James gave her a strange look. It was as if she didn't remember telling him. "You told me about a reaper… and darkness… and a light, with a bird that dropped a flower."

"Alright prefects, Head Boy and Girl, you are all dismissed now," McGonagall said.

Lily quickly took this chance to pack everything away. "Have a nice day, Potter. I'll see you later."

James stared at her as she left. At the moment, he could only think of two things.

'One: What had she been talking about? Two: Lily Evans had really nice eyes.'

"I've lost it," James groaned, returning to the thing he'd done most that day: hitting himself on the head.

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) Not too short, not too long, I hope. Review, please! I want to know what you think! 

To Come: The Ball… Lily faints, goes into a long trance (she can't breathe during those), and, um, dreams.  



	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

(A/N) I know, it's only been, what, two or three days? But really, it feels like forever. Oh, and one more thing: THE BALL! THE BALL! (And a rather angry McGonagall)

Disclaimer: I own the plot, Bella, Evelyn, and some spells. J.K owns all.

*~*~*~*~*

The rest of their days passed by quite quickly, and soon it was the night of the Ball. In the girls' dormitories, it was mayhem. 

"Lip gloss! I need lip gloss!"

"My curlers were on too long! My hair's on fire! Help!"

"I ripped my dress!"

"My date's sick!"

"I caught the flu! My nose is all stuffy! My date'll be so disappointed!" (It sounded more like 'Bmy nobsfe is all snuffy! Bmy date'll be sbo dissabboinded!') 

"Someone help me with this stupid zipper!"

"Ahhh! Who replaced my face cream with skele-gro?" (Hint: It involved a certain group of anigami)

"My dress shrunk!"

"My owl left droppings all over my outfit!"

"You look great!"

Half the room stopped still to see who had dared to be perfect when everyone else was part of a major pandemonium. Naturally, it was Lily, standing in front of a gilt-edged mirror, staring at herself critically.

"Lily! You look _wonderful_! However did you manage?" asked the girl who had left her curlers on for too long. (Someone had doused water on her smoking head.)

Lily bit her lip. "No idea, really. My grandmother sent this last Christmas."

She was wearing a simple white tank dress, with pastel butterflies scattered across it, and a white top underneath. She wore the necklace her mother had sent, and a trace of glitter was in her auburn hair, which hung loosely, clipped back.

"You all should try a bit less to be perfect, you know… less effort would make you look more natural."

"Easy for _you_ to say," Bella said, trying to disentangle a brush from her honey blonde hair, which was already gleaming.

Lily shook her head. "I'll be reading, if you need me, in the Common Room." A few girls desperately tried to dissuade her, as they still hadn't gotten the idea of wearing muggle dresses quite right.

"You'll all look great," Lily reassured them, muttering a calming spell under her breath at a quite hysterical fifth year.

*~*~*~*~*

"Potter," she nodded at James hunched figure in a chair.

"Evans. You look-"

"Great. Beautiful. Pretty. Nice. I've heard those already."

"Quite full of yourself today, Evans," James noted. "And I was going to say 'better than usual'."

Lily shrugged. "Whatever."

"You _do_ look great, though."

"Thank you," Lily said stiffly.

"Your welcome," James replied in a strained voice.

Lily sighed and snapped her book shut. "Politeness isn't exactly an element in our normal conversations, Potter."

"Point taken, Evans. Let's start over. Hello, Evans. You look horrible."

"Why thank you, Sir Ugly."

"Your welcome, Lady Hideous."

"So why are you down here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Lily shrugged. "You know, the Ball would be a _wonderful_ chance to do the little 'favor' of getting caught by Filch."

At James' mildly surprised look, she said, "The blackmail. You didn't think I'd actually forget, did you?"

"Silly me. I should have remembered… 'Elephants never forget.'"

"Futile to point out that I thin, isn't it?" Lily asked, opening her book again.

"Rather. So why _are_ you down here? Shouldn't you be worrying about how your mascara doesn't match your dress and how your dress makes you look fat with the rest of them?"

"By 'them', I assume you mean the girls?" James nodded shortly. "Well, I'm more concerned about important issues, rather than that. Mascara… it barely shows up, anyway."

James shrugged. "Ah. I'm not an expert in girly make-up, and stuff like that."

"I see."

"What?"

"Nothing."

James tried to steer the conversation in another direction. "So tell me, Evans, what else did you see?"

Lily gave him a puzzled look. "Pardon?"

"A few days ago, you told me that you saw people-"

"I had hoped you'd have forgotten about that," Lily cut him off shortly.

"No indeed, I didn't. So, it obviously disturbed you. Got an interpretation for it?" James asked.

"Maybe."

"Yes?"

"I didn't say yes."

"You _meant_ yes."

"The reaper."

"What about him?" James asked.

"Don't you get it, you abnormally unobservant idiot?"

"I resent that."

"The reaper… He was Death. Get it? The Grim reaper? A reaper? The Grim reaper? The old guy in the hooded cape, with the reaper tool?"

James frowned. "I've heard of him. But you said the reaper was smiling. He wasn't 'grim'."

"He was smiling because… Well, my theory is that he was smiling because he'd get to take another life. Potter. That's what I read on the parchment that came down, remember?"

"And then?"

"Well, the rest, I'm a bit confused myself. I mean, doves and flowers…" Lily shrugged.

"What about the phoenix?"

"The phoenix represents life in some places… someone killed it. You figure it out."

"And the faces? Can you name them?"

"I told you, way too many to count."

"And the wand? What about it?"

"Potter, are you going to ask me about every single detail of what I saw?"

"Maybe," James shrugged slightly, then returned to a thick Transfiguration textbook.

"Boys," Lily muttered under her breath as she got up and left.

*~*~*~*~*

"And Opening the Ball will be the Prefects and Heads. All prefects, and Head Boy and Girl, please report to the front at this time."

Lily got up from her seat and joined James.

"Potter, let's get this over with."

"Faster the better," James nodded, watching a Ravenclaw prefect out of the corner of his eye.

"Marissa Claude," Lily said, following his gaze. "She looks pretty, doesn't she?"

"I detect a note of jealousy, Evans," James shot back, his eyes never leaving Marissa.

"Most certainly not. She and I are simply… not on the best of terms. Last year, her boyfriend dumped her for me. I rejected him anyway, but she despises me still."

"Someone would choose _you_ over _her_?" James asked.

"Evidently so, Potter."

"Hmph." James greeted the Ravenclaw girl, who gave Lily a frosty look.

"Hi, Marissa! You look lovely!" Lily called after her. "See? We aren't on the best terms."

James glanced at Marissa again.

"Come _on_, Potter. I know I don't quite live up to Marissa's radiant beauty, but at least pay attention," Lily snapped sarcastically.

If James had less sense, he would have yelled that he didn't think so, that Lily was probably the best looking girl on the floor, but somehow, he suspected that it wouldn't have been a good idea.

Marissa _was_ pretty, though.

*~*~*~*~*

"_Vinnis Staegus Non_," Lily muttered, while she was on the floor with James.

"What?"

"Side effect of the spell I preformed earlier, Potter. You're shedding," Lily said simply.

"_What_?"

"Kidding. Learn to joke, Potter."

James gave her a puzzled look as he turned her lightly in sync with the other prefects. "Who needs to learn to take a joke, exactly?"

"Oh, right. Anyway, I'm wreaking havoc at the Slytherin table. Jolly good fun, really."

"McGonagall's going to notice your wand, isn't she? Isn't there a strict 'no-magic' rule?" James asked as Lily did a quick side step.

"I didn't use a wand. Telekinesis. Very interesting concept-"

"I know what it is," James interrupted irritably.

Lily frowned as they swept across the dance floor. "Let me finish, will you?"

"Fine. Go on," James said.

"Never mind. I might as well be talking to a wall," Lily's eyes flashed a look of contempt at him. "Tell me, Potter, why are you so concerned about what I saw in your soul?"

"Because… I just want to," James said, avoiding looking at her, which was quite hard, as this was the point in the dance at which they were required to look at each other.

"Hmm."

"What?"

"You ask too many questions, Potter. Don't forget… Filch'll have to come up with the punishment."

"Huh?" James asked, as the dance ended and Lily left him. 

*~*~*~*~*

"So… Sirius, I believe you promised me a dance," Lily smiled at him.

Sirius laughed. "So I did. But just as long as I don't have to do that complicated waltz you and James just did back there.

"I guarantee you, you aren't quite up to the level, not that I doubt your capabilities."

"Sure."

Sirius, however, was soon whisked away by another girl, and Lily found herself spun by a large number of different boys, until Remus took her, and everyone else was too tired.

"So, Lily, what have you been doing during the Ball so far?" Remus asked.

Lily laughed; Remus had watched her dance the entire night. "Hmm… Guess."

"Er… Did you happen to meet a secret admirer?"

"Not to my knowledge, unless you'd like to prove me wrong, Mr. Lupin."

"Eh, I'm quite sure he'd rather I not reveal that information to you."

"Oh?"

"Yes, ma'am. So… What did you tell James? He was blabbering about blackmail again, and how we were the 'pawns in your chess game of life'."

Lily tilted her head. "Well, actually, he would be the knight, which I'd have to eventually sacrifice. Sirius would most likely be a knight, also. You, Remus, would be a rook. And Peter… Peter is a pawn."

Remus laughed lightly. "And who are you? The fair queen?"

"No. I'd be the chess player who declares all your moves," Lily replied.

"Wise. Even more powerful than the queen. But we're getting off topic."

"I told you before, Remus. Play a prank, get caught by Filch, and Filch must come up with the punishment. Not a really severe task."

"I know. But still? Why do you want to blackmail us?"

"I don't know… Six years of torture on myself aren't good enough reason, Remus?" Lily asked as they left for the snack bar.

"Ah. _That_."

"More reason than that, I despise your friend, the sacrificial knight."

"Er… James?"

"The one and only," Lily responded, ladling some butterbeer into a cup.

"Why?"

"Haven't we been through this before?"

"Yes."

Remus smiled bitterly. "But I still have to ask, as I still believe you don't _really_ hate him."

Lily shrugged and matched his gaze for her own. "Aright, then. Perhaps you're right, Remus. Perhaps I don't despise James Potter. Maybe I do. Is there really that much a difference between friendship and hate?"

"You mean love and hate."

"Same thing," Lily snapped.

"No, big difference."

"What are you saying, Re-" Lily suddenly froze and her eyes glazed over.

"Lily? Lily?" Remus asked in an echoing voice. His image was blurring…

A sudden flash brought Lily to a new scene. Remus and Sirius… both older a shabbier looking. Both were carrying a look of complete malice at a rat. Another flash brought her back to reality. Dumbledore was frowning. 

"D-did everyone just see that?" Lily asked.

Remus nodded. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," Lily answered faintly. "I'm- I'm perfectly fine. Just a little tired. I'll just go get some rest…" Without warning, Lily slid to the floor.

*~*~*~*~*

"What happened?" Lily mumbled, stirred from a deep sleep.

"Oh, Lily! You're alright!" a voice identified as Evelyn's cried. "You went all rigid, and-and you sort of seized up. Then you came back to normal, and then you fainted."

Dumbledore walked in, looking disturbed. "Miss Evans, did you, er, _see_ anything?"

"See? Oh! No, sir."

"Tell me if you do," he said, then walked out of the door, looking more troubled than ever.

"What was _that_ all about?" Evelyn asked confusedly.

"Complex and uninteresting things," Lily muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing."

*~*~*~*~*

"Miss Evans!"

"Professor?" Lily asked groggily, trying to put Professor McGonagall, Flitwick, and Dumbledore into focus.

"Remember your dreams tonight. They should be of great significance," Dumbledore said.

"What?"

"Your dreams, Miss Evans…"

Lily didn't hear the rest, as she fell asleep.

*~*~*~*~*

__

"Take Harry and go! Go, Lily, go!" A man's voice.

__

"No! _I'm staying with you_!" A woman's voice.

__

She clung to a small bundle tightly. "Hurry and run! I'll hold him off!"

"No! I'm staying with you!"

"Go! Don't worry about me! Just go! Hurry and run! Take Harry!"

"I'm staying with you!" the woman said insistently.

"At what expense? Your life? Run, Lily, run!"

"No! I want to stay with you!"

"Go, Lily! Now! Take Harry and run!" there was an edgy urgency in his voice now.

"But-"

"Go! Take Harry and run!"

"I-"

"Go now!"

The woman took the bundle and gave her husband (Brother? Friend?) a tight hug. "Good-bye, James."

"Good-bye, Lily."

She then ran. Behind her, she heard a soft thump to the ground as a flash of green and laughter filled the air.

"No! Not my son! Please! No!"

"Stand aside, silly girl, stand aside."

"No! Take me instead! Please, take me!"

"You had your chance years ago. Stand aside, silly girl, stand aside."

"No! Please, not Harry! Please! Not Harry!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

"No! Please-" she dropped to the ground.

Lily woke up in the hospital with a start. In his dorm, James did the same.

*~*~*~*~*

"I had the _weirdest _dream last night, Moony," James said in detention the next morning. (Filch had "caught" them "defacing" the girls' bathrooms)

"What about?" Remus asked, as he grimly put on thick, dragon skin gloves.

"I can't remember it all… Lots of green. Two people and a baby named Harry, I think," James continued, as he picked up a small blue toothbrush and joined Remus and the others for their detention experience.

"Hmm… You could get Sybil to interpret it all for you, you know. She'd be more than willing," Remus suggested, taking red toothbrush and crouching down to the cold, stone floor of the owlry.

"You're kidding, right? She'll probably make it out into some sort of dramatic death I'm going to suffer," James said, carefully stepping to another end of the room.

Sirius picked up his toothbrush. You're kidding me, right? Are you saying that dying from the toxic wastes of owl droppings isn't dramatic enough for you? Didn't know you turned into that Hufflepuff, Lockhart."

James laughed; their detention had been to clean the owlry of any, er… _wastes_ left by the owls with tiny toothbrushes, with no magical assistance. It included the wall, the owl cages, the floor, and the ceiling (don't even _ask_ how it got up there.)

"I wouldn't say _that_, Sirius. But, yes, I require a _much_ more dramatic death," James said, with an exaggerated haughtiness in his voice. "I wish for lights, cameras, action, and, alas, owl droppings." He looked in distaste as one of the owls left one on his shoulder.

"Manual labor. Ugh. Take the picture now, Peter. Evans wanted proof," James said, quite sure that Lily would value a picture of him on his hands and knees with owl droppings on his shirt. "Perhaps she'd like it framed."

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) Pretty long, I guess that may be a bit bad, unless you like long stories and chapters. Hmm. Perspective works in funny ways. I made major changes from my manuscript here, but for the better.

To Come: Lily's reaction to her dream, Dumbledore has a rather odd conversation with Lily about James, and the prefects begin a project that is _most_ interesting. (Guess who's Lily's partner? Starts with a J, ends with an S, and rhymes with 'names')


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

(A/N) Thanks for all the reviews!!! Sorry the last update came late… Next few chapters are going to be _interesting_… sort of. 

Disclaimer: I own the plot, Bella, and Evelyn. J.K. owns everything else.

*~*~*~*~*

Lily woke up in the hospital room, sweating.

It had been a strange dream, but then, weren't all dreams strange?

"I had too much butterbeer," she murmured, before taking a swig of Dreamless Sleep potion.

*~*~*~*~*

"I told you it was a weird dream," James muttered.

"The strangest," Remus agreed, as the two boys joined their friends at the breakfast table.

"What, were you _actually_ good at Charms, Potter?" Lily asked sarcastically behind them.

"Morning, sunshine," James greeted.

"Howdy do!" Sirius said.

"Salutations," Remus nodded.

"'Hello," Peter said sullenly, not being able to think of a better greeting.

"Shut up. So, Potter, what _was_ your dream about?" Lily smirked, as she glanced at a test grade of his that fell out of his Charms book. (140 out of 200)

"A man and a woman. Er, a baby, and… er, Unforgivable Curses."

"Oh?" Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Harry, his name was," James shrugged.

"You're telling me, Potter, that we had the same dream?"

"Huh?"

"What, a new prank? Invading into my dreams as well now, hmm?"

"What?" James asked. "What're you saying, Evans, we had the same dream?"

"So we had the _same_ dream on the _same_ night?" Lily gave a sigh of exasperation. "Forget it. I have to see the Headmaster."

"What happened to your 'it's- spring- so- nothing- can- ruin- my- mood'?" James called after her.

"Is she experiencing mood swings? Cramps? Bloating and fatigue?" Sirius quoted off of a commercial. "I have the solution right here-"

James hit his friend with the Transfiguration textbook.

*~*~*~*~*

"Actually, Miss Evans, I find it _very_ possible that you and Mr. Potter had the same dream."

"_What_?" Lily cried. "I- don't- want- to- have the same dreams as- as- _Potter_!"

"Your subconscious has a very good set of premonitions for you, Miss Evans."

"So they'll all really come true?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Oh, no. Imagine what life would be like, if we had an entire lifetime mapped out for us, always knowing what would happen every second, never being surprised. No, it just takes one detail to change it all. I believe, Miss Evans, that these 'premonitions' come to you to prevent them from happening. If they involve bad things, that is."

"Um, professor, do you think that it was just a coincidence? I mean, me and Potter having the same dream?" Lily asked, a hint of hopefulness in her voice.

"Coincidence? Miss Evans, I do not believe in coincidence. There is always a reason. Not always an explanation, not always a good reason, but there is always a reason. But then, you _would_ have to have a very strong connection with whomever you linked the dream with. How long have you known Mr. Potter?"

"Since we met at Platform 9 3/4."

"Ah. Do you remember your first impression of him?"

"Yes," Lily nodded.

"It was…?"

"That he was a mindless, idiotic, dim-witted, egotistical, feckless, incompetent git."

For a second, Lily thought she saw a twinkle of amusement in Dumbledore's eyes.

"And what brought on this… impression?"

"Oh, nothing magical, if that's what you mean. It's just that he told me to act like a chicken to get on the platform, and to insult the barrier, because that would open it up."

"Oh?" There was no doubt in the amusement of his voice now.

"Yes, sir. I got revenge, though."

"How so, Miss Evans?" More out of curiosity than any other reason.

"Oh, I pushed him into the Lake, later on. Very quick, very fun, and _very_ refreshing."

"I see." Dumbledore nodded, mostly trying to get back to the formalities.

*~*~*~*~*

During Binns' class, History of Magic, both Lily and James fell asleep.

Actually, most of the class fell asleep.

Somewhere between the lecture on the varying types of wandless magic preformed in the past four centuries and the "discussion" of goblins and their slaves and servants (Binns was discussing mainly to walls), James woke up to the same reoccurring dream with a start.

Across the room, Lily murmured, "Not Harry, please not Harry…"

She jerked up, waking herself.

"Miss Evans, would you care to explain to the class your reasons for falling asleep?"

"Sorry, professor… It won't happen again."

When Binns' back was turned, Lily shot James a look of hatred. Her intense green eyes were a darker green than they had been before, or at least they seemed to be at that moment. 

__

Green eyes… the woman in the dream had green eyes, too…

*~*~*~*~*

"…objective of being a prefect is to learn how to work in a group. For this assignment, we will pair you with the other prefect of your house. Minerva?" Dumbledore stepped off the podium.

"Yes, thank you, Albus. Now, for this assignment, you are to start a muggle business within the school. We will be passing out a sheet to you all, with a selection of businesses you may choose, and you must pick one of the three, no others, no swapping options with other prefects. Everything must be done the muggle way, and no magic involved. We will specify when you choose your business. Of course, you also charge a reasonable amount for service. The pair who has the most successful business will not only win many points to their house, but also scrap full of galleons, alright? Get to work now, chop-chop."

Lily slid into a seat beside James. "What're our options, Potter?"

James picked up the parchment. "Uh… selling a product, muggle, of course, psychiatry work, or teaching a muggle sport."

He rather found her annoying once more, even if she _was_ pretty… cross that, serenely beautiful.

"Psychiatry, I like a challenge."

"How do muggle psychiatrists work, anyway?"

"Same as wizards, I suppose."

"With a pensieve and magical solutions?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not quite. They offer advice, sort of. You tell them all your problems, thoughts, reoccurring dreams, stuff like that. Then they interpret it all, or just try to get you to solve it yourself by answering questions with questions. Then they charge you about four times how much they should, according to the hours," Lily answered briskly.

"Rather cynical of you to say that," James noted.

"So?"

"So polite."

"It's not my goal in life to be a nice, polite, ditz, Potter."

"I didn't say that… Just the politeness part."

"You implied."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Shut up!" a nearby group of Ravenclaws said.

"Just because we interrupted your _obvious_ snogging session-"

"Is no reason to interrupt our yelling match," James finished for her.

"And you say _I'm _not polite?" Lily said.

"Whatever."

"Ditzy girls say that."

"What are you implying? I'm a girl?"

"You said it, not me."

"Shut up."

"Let's get back to the topic," Lily sighed. "Whatever we do, we'd better win."

"Why?"

"Because the only alternative to _winning _is _losing_," Lily said, fixing him with him with a cold stare.

"Okay, okay, okay. Touché, aren't we?"

*~*~*~*~*

"Snapecious Lemonade!"

"Learn a muggle sport! Only two sickles a lesson!"

"Tutoring in muggle subjects! Three knuts every half hour!"

Lily chuckled under her breath, knowing that she had an advantage. She, unlike the others, had a basic idea of it all. Besides, they were better off. They had an actual "office" where "customers" could come in privacy. Their first _real_ customer (Sirius had thought it was funny to pretend to need psychiatric help, though Lily insisted that he really _did_) was Eddie Macmillan, from Hufflepuff.

"I'm desperate. There's this girl… Jessica, I've been wanting to ask her out ever since first year, but I'm too nervous…"

"Get to know her first, she'll come around eventually to see you for what you are," Lily advised.

"Evans, that's _crap_," James argued. "The only way, Eddie, is to toughen up and _ask_ her."

"Oh, sure, like anyone would date someone they know _nothing_ about," Lily said. 

"Well, getting to know her is no way… Once you break up, they hate you."

"Oh, I suppose you have experience in these matters?"

"Evelyn, for instance," James pointed out.

"Evelyn's _my_ friend, you git."

"Well, she _was_ my friend, up until the point I broke up with her, to prove my point."

"She's never _was_ your friend, she's just plain _infatuated_ with you."

"Impressive vocabulary, Evans."

Lily chose to ignore it. "Besides, who says that they're going to break up?"

"Well, it's not like these relationships last when they part. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Jessica a Ravenclaw?"

"She-"

"That's not the point," Lily interrupted Eddie.

"Yes it is. I mean, if she's in Ravenclaw, they'd barely see each other. And once they graduate, it'd be kind of hard to stay together, wouldn't it?"

"Well, then if she's not in it for the long haul, then she's not worth it."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"_Fine_!"

"_Fine_!"

"Wow, you guys are really great!" Eddie said.

Lily and James looked up. 

"I'm sorry, Eddie, we weren't quite paying attention," Lily said, resuming her professional manner.

"You guys are really great! I mean, _two_ points of views on a topic, that's a great idea! I'll tell all my friends about your business," he promised.

"Er…" James exchanged a look with Lily. "What exactly are you talking about, Eddie?"

"Oh, right. How much, three sickles?"

"Pardon?" Lily stared at him.

"Oh, alright, four sickles, but no more."

"You're _paying_ us for arguing?" James asked.

Eddie nodded. "It's great! I get two views on one topic, you guys are brilliant! I hope you win!"

Lily and James just stared at him.

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) That was fun to write. Sorry again it took so long! The next update will come in three days at latest, one day at least.

To Come: A few more "customers" for Lily and James, muggle chess, and more on their dreams.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

(A/N) Thanks for your reviews! I have the song from Spongebob Squarepants stuck in my head… (F is for friends who do stuff together, U is for you and me, N is for anybody anywhere here in the deep blue sea…)

Disclaimer: I own… (please refer to last few chapters) On with the story!

*~*~*~*~*

After the first week, James and Lily's business was obviously the most successful. The Ravenclaw's muggle sports followed closely behind.

*~*~*~*~*

"Business is slow today," James said, leaning back in his chair.

"Would you rather spend your time in Potions?"

"No."

"D'you play chess?"

"I, Evans, am the chess _master_."

"Sure you are. Want to play?"

"You're going down, Evans."

Lily raised an eyebrow, then took out a chess set.

"Why aren't the pieces moving?" James asked suspiciously.

"Because it's a _muggle_ chess set. Just to be sure the pieces don't give you advice."

James scowled as he moved a bishop. "It doesn't matter. I'll win anyway."

"Sure you will… check."

"Check."

"Check."

"Check."

"Check."

"Wow, Evans, you've actually got _talent_," James said sarcastically. "Oh, and… check."

Lily frowned at the chessboard.

"Make a move, Evans," James sighed, fifteen minutes later.

Lily scowled at him. "Hmm… Check."

"Check."

Lily's eyes gave the chessboard a quick, calculating look. "Check and mate."

James looked up briefly. "You didn't touch the board."

"Oh, right." Lily moved a knight forward.

"That's a check, Evans, you're losing it," James said, moving his remaining rook.

"Check and mate." Lily moved her other knight.

"Do that again," James frowned, moving back the pieces.

"Hey-"

"What's my next move, Evans?"

"How should I know?" Lily scowled at the chessboard.

"You knew my next two moves before I made them," James said, looking at her strangely.

"How so?"

"You knew you were going to win, when you said 'check and mate' the first time," James said.

"That's not possible; lucky guesswork."

"You're a Seer, of course it's possible."

"Just because-"

"Uh, guys?"

Both Lily and James looked up to see Arthur Weasley, a seventh year, in the door.

"Yes?"

"Yeah, um, I need some help."

"We realize that, when you walked in her," Lily said, clearing away the board.

"Right. Um, Snape keeps on calling me 'mudblood lover' and my girlfriend a 'mudblood.' It just makes me _so_ mad when-"

"Angry," Lily corrected absentmindedly. "It's angry."

"Right. Uh, it makes me so _angry_ when he calls Melody a mudblood, that I just want to hurt him. So how d'you suppose I can, er, relieve my anger?"

"Punch him in the nose," James said bluntly. "We all know it's crooked already. You'll be able to vent out your feelings, and it's for the good of the world."

"_Potter_!" Lily exclaimed. "You're supposed to be helping him, not advising him to be foolhardy and stupid."

"What do _you_ advise?"

Lily directed her speech back to Arthur. "Just ignore him. If he sees it doesn't bother you, he'll stop."

"Oh, like he's been doing to _you_ for the past six years?" James asked sarcastically. "Your way doesn't work, Evans. You've ignored him since first year, and now he calls you mudblood twice a day."

"Well, _maybe_, he _wouldn't_ if some _idiotic_ people can get it in their _thick _brains that it's not _their_ problem!"

James scoffed. "You actually _believe_ that, Evans? Slytherins hate mudbloods enough already, you think that they'll just _stop_? That _ignoring_ them would actually accomplish something?"

"Well, I'd _never_ know, now would I? As Snape _obviously_ sees that _someone_ is very bothered by it!"

"Well, _excuse_ me! I'm just saying, that, well, _someone_ should stand up to that stupid-"

"Well, if you'd just _shut up_ about it around Snape, he probably would have stopped _years_ ago!"

"Oh, _yeah_. He'll just _ignore _it, like you do, Evans. Now we'll be one, big, happy, _ignoring_ family!"

"Ignorant," Lily said grumpily.

"Ignorant isn't a related word to ignore, Evans."

"I _know_, Potter. I was referring to the brain in your thick head."

"Well, at least _my_ head isn't thick enough to just _ignore_ it!"

"I would _soo _love to slap you right now."

"What's stopping you?"

"There's a witness."

"Whatever," James sighed. "_Don't_ tell me you're going to _ignore_ it when he _ignores_ you _ignoring_ him!"

"Well, I don't go screaming hexes, now do I?"

"You do when _I _insult you," James pointed out.

"That's because _you're_ stupid," Lily replied. 

"Are you implying that Snape is smart?"

"Are you implying that I'm implying that Snape is smart?"

"And besides, what happened to dumping milk all over Snape? And trashing dorm rooms, two at a time?"

"I was doing it to settle my anger," Lily said, crossing her arms.

"Aha! So you _admit_, O perfect Lily Evans the prefect, that you need to vent out your anger, preferably the source?"

"I _wasn't_ hexing the source of my anger," she said.

"Whatever. But you _do _admit it?"

"Yes! Fine! All hail to the great and powerful James Potter!" Lily said, sighing in exasperation. "What'd you want, a medal?"

"Wow, Eddie's right! You _are_ good at this!" Arthur said, hastily shoving four sickles into Lily's hand before leaving.

"What just happened?" Lily asked blankly.

"Nutters, seventh years are," James muttered under his breath. "Alright then. Fancy another game of chess?"

*~*~*~*~*

Lily walked down from the stairs to the Common Room, seeing the Marauders hunched over the same table as three hours ago.

"You guys are still here?" Lily asked.

"Uh huh," Sirius answered, not turning.

"Well, I'm going now."

"Great."

"What are you doing?" she asked suspiciously.

"Yeah," came Remus' reply.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Wonderful," James said.

"You're all idiots."

"Right."

"Severus Snape is the greatest being to grace this earth."

"I agree."

"James Potter is the ugliest, most lackluster, stupidest, most egotistical, feckless _thing_ to walk this planet."

"I agree."

"Something's up."

"You bet."

Lily glanced over Peter's shoulder. "What's that?"

All the boys jumped. "Evans, what are you _doing _here?"

"I don't have to answer."

"Whatever. Go away."

"Sure," Lily turned, then shot James a direct look.

"Owowowow!" he said.

"What?" she asked innocently. "Tell me when you finish the map, by the way."

"Sure-" James stopped short. "How'd you know that?"

"Check your book, Potter."

James scowled. "Extracting information from the mind, Evans. I'm not stupid."

"Oh? You said 'I agree' when I told you that earlier." With that, she left, leaving the Marauders to wonder how they were supposed to coexist peacefully with Lily Evans in the same school as them.

*~*~*~*~*

"What are _you_ doing here, Evans?" James asked, when Lily showed up at the quidditch match.

"I'm here for Gryffindor," she replied curtly. "Despite the _obvious_ mistake that the Sorting Hat made."

"If you mean yourself, I agree," James answered.

"You're lucky I don't believe in unprovoked violence, Potter," Lily said. SLAP.

"What was that for?" James asked, rubbing the side of his face. "You just said that you didn't believe in unprovoked violence."

Lily shrugged. "That was for not being someone else."

"Good reason," James scoffed.

Lily ignored him, and turned sugary sweet to the Slytherin teams. "Severus, Lucious, hello. Good luck," she said politely.

"Oh, yeah, wish the _opposing_ team luck."

Lily scowled, then pasted on a smile again. "_Arthur_! Good luck! Billius, good luck. Alicia, good luck. Sandy, good luck."

James frowned. "Aren't you going to wish _me_ luck?" he asked sarcastically.

Lily gave him a calculating look. "You know, Potter, I don't think you'll need it."

She disappeared into a crowd before James could think of something to say. 

__

Had Lily Evans actually complimented him?

*~*~*~*~*

"GRYFFINDORS WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Yippee," Lily muttered, retreating to the Common room, where everyone was partying.

"Lily, you don't sound so happy," Bella noted.

"I'm happy, I'm happy," Lily said, shoving past some swooning Hufflepuffs.

*~*~*~*~*

"Hex, most definitely a hex," Sirius nodded.

"We could… make all her dreams and nightmares come true," Peter suggested.

"Wormtail, m'friend, where on earth did you get that stroke of brilliance from?" James grinned.

*~*~*~*~*

James tossed in his sleep. It was the same dream. 

__

"Go! Take Harry and go!" "No!" "Good bye." "Avada Kedavra!" "NO!" "Not Harry, please!" "Avada Kedavra!" "NO!" "Good bye." "Good bye, good bye, good bye…" the last words that always echoed.

"James! Wake up! Lily's up! It's working!"

James woke up, shaken by Peter. They had slipped a potion into Lily's juice, and now she'd have to really experience her dream.

Sure enough, Lily was in the Common Room, clinging onto something invisible.

"Goodbye," she said softly.

James jerked up. It sounded like _his_ dream.

"_No!_ No! Not Harry! Please! Not Harry! Take me instead!"

"Whoa," Sirius said, "What kind of dream do you think she's having?"

"Harry?" Remus asked, looking at James. "Sounds familiar."

Lily was shaking now, her eyes rolling around, her breath coming out labored.

The Cruciatus spell.

James froze. That was really happening. If that did, then so would-"

"Evans, wake up!" he yelled.

Lily didn't notice as he and the others shot forward. "No! Not Harry! Please, not Harry!"

Her hand darted forward, and a nearby table erupted into flames, then into ash within a second.

"Lily Evans! WAKE UP!" James said. Remus seemed to comprehend this, and began to shake her.

"Wake up," Remus said.

A green light was reflecting in her eyes, getting brighter, brighter…

"What happened?" she asked. "Potter? Remus? Sirius? Peter?"

"You had the same dream," James murmured. "The same one."

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) Another long one! Hmm… Now I have another song stuck in my head. ("Just A Closer Walk With Thee")

To Come: More on the dreams. Umm… that's going to take up a lot of the next chapter, which'll come around… two or three days, but check back in one, just in case.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

(A/N) Thanks for all the reviews! A lot of you seemed to be confused with the discussion between Lily, James, and Arthur. Sorry about that, they were just discussing Snape calling them 'mudbloods', and Lily and James got too wrapped up in their own conversation to notice Arthur. Sorry this took so long.

Disclaimer: I own- refer to the last few chapters. 

*~*~*~*~*

"You had the same dream," James murmured. 

"Same dream? Perhaps you've caused brain damage hitting your head with those textbooks, Potter," Lily said.

"How'd you know about that?" James asked sharply.

Lily shrugged. "I get around."

"Meaning?"

Sirius glanced at the two. "Uh, what 'dream' are you guys talking about?"

Lily shruddered. "There was a man, and a woman. And another man. After them, I think."

"And?" Sirius prodded. "Besides, why'd you wake her up, James?"

"Because she would have _died_," James snapped.

"How?"

Lily muttered something under her breath about letting children get into sixth year.

"Hey! I heard that!"

Lily shrugged. 

"Uh, Sirius?" Remus asked.

"What?"

"We really _could_ have killed her."

"How?"

"Well, the potion made anything in her dream come true."

"Sounds like a fairytale," Peter said.

Lily, James, Remus, and Sirius turned to look at him.

"What?"

"Forget it."

"Didn't I slip in some of that nightmare potion in her drink, too?" Peter piped up.

"You. Did. _What?_" James asked.

"You know-"

Lily gave an aggravated sigh. "Are you all complete idiots?"

"Not all," Remus reminded her. "James helped save your life."

Lily scoffed. "Yeah, after he endangered it first."

"Hey! I deserve _some_ sort of recognition," James said.

"Thank _you_, Potter, for almost killing me," Lily said sarcastically.

"You don't sound… mad," James noted lightly.

"Angry," Lily corrected him. "The word is angry. And no, for some bizarre reason, I'm not. I _do_ however, hope that you lot realize the depths of your stupidity eventually, and have no need to kill me in the process."

Remus shot up from a chair. "You and James have been having the same dreams, right?"

Lily frowned. "Yeah, I guess."

"Can you describe it?"

"Not very well."

"Yes, you can," James said suddenly.

"How?"

"If we put the same potion on the both of us, we would probably have the same dream. That way, we'd end up acting out the whole thing."

"What are you suggesting? That you're the man in the dream?" Lily asked.

"Maybe."

"I need a straight answer, Potter."

"Just do what we say, Evans."

"Since when have I done that?"

"Try to at least cooperate," James rolled his eyes. "Perhaps we'll break a world record… Lily Evans being _civil_."

"I'm always civil," Lily replied. "Unlike _some_, who run around like barbaric idiots."

*~*~*~*~*

"This could be dangerous," Lily said, watching the four boys concocting the potion.

"Shut up, Evans. We're working," James said, not turning.

"I'd like to at least help," she complained.

"You have no idea what you're doing," James answered.

Lily scowled, then turned her attention to the table. "Shove over, Potter."

"Evans, what the-"

"Shut up, Potter. I'm working," Lily answered, staring intently at the table.

"Sirius, Remus, Peter, move."

"Wha-"

Lily focused on the bubbling cauldron, as if she were looking into the depths of the crystal clear solution.

"Evans-"

Lily gasped suddenly, as if out of pain. "There. Your stupid potion's done."

James shook his head. "Not possible. It takes at least two hours-"

"Whoa, Lily, it worked!"

Lily smiled at Remus, then turned triumphantly to James. "Certain advantages to being a Seer, isn't there?"

"Voldemort's going to be after you," he said.

"Sure, Potter. Let's get this over with," Lily sighed.

"Yeah. Uh, Sirius? Wake me up the third or fourth time I say 'hurry', or else I'll be…"

"Following the voice that says 'Go into the light, James,'" Sirius nodded.

"Same here," Lily grumbled. "I have no intention of dying before seventeen.

*~*~*~*~*

"Remus, they're asleep," Sirius hissed.

"Good," Remus nodded. "Peter, wake up."

"Mommy, I don't like stickers with cheese…" Peter mumbled.

"Peter! Wake up!"

"Chocolate fudge and rat boogers, please, they're the yummy ones," the sleeping boy said.

"Ugh," Sirius shook his head. "Let's leave him to his own dreams. C'mon."

*~*~*~*~*

In the Common Room, both Lily and James stumbled in, with the same glazed look Lily had worn before.

"_Limitito Mutitos," _Sirius muttered.

"What?" Remus asked.

"They yell, so I made a muting charm that only we can hear through."

"Wise, young grasshopper."

"Thanks."

"Now pay attention to them," Remus ordered.

"No! I'm not leaving you!" Lily said, appearing to be afraid.

"Lily, go! Hurry and go!"

"No! I can't! I'm staying with you!"

"We aren't risking Harry's life, Lily," James said.

"I can't leave you here, James," Lily said. "Let me stay with you. Harry will be fine."

"That's not true, and you know it. Run, Lily, hurry and run! It's not safe!"

"But you-"

"Don't worry about me, run!"

"No! I'm staying!"

"No you aren't, Lily! Hurry and run! Take Harry!"

"I can't!"

"Lily, run, _now_! I'll hold him off!" James said urgently.

"But-"

"Go! _Now!_ Hurry!"

Lily nodded and ran.

"No!" James said suddenly. "Don't! You won't hurt them! Not if-"

James had a sudden greenish light in his eyes.

"Uh, Moony? How many times did James say 'Hurry'?"

Both Remus and Sirius jumped up and ran. "James! Wake up!"

"I'm awake, you idiots, Sirius, stop-ow- hitting- ow- me!"

"Sorry, we wanted to make sure you were awake," Sirius shrugged.

"What now?" James asked, straightening up.

"Well, we need to tell you about what happened," Sirius answered.

"Not now," Remus shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Lily."

The three turned to see Lily, who was huddled up as if in a corner. 

"Evans?"

"_No!_" Lily's hand jerked forward, and a fireball the size of a large orange shot out and hit the wall behind of them.

"_This_ she can do, but not my homework?" Sirius joked, earning a glare from both Remus and James.

"Please, not Harry!" A light reflected in her eyes for a second. 

"The Cruciatus spell," James grimaced.

"Lily? Wake up," Remus said.

In response, she jerked her hand forward, this time freezing Sirius in mid step.

"What did she do to him?" James asked, observing his best friend, who was stiff as a board.

"Froze time for him," Remus said. "Look at her eyes, James."

"I'm trying not to," James answered, but obliged. In Lily's eyes were the reflection of someone not there, seen only to her. It was a hooded man, the same one in all of James' dreams. There wasn't any sound from the man, but the sudden light that reflected in Lily's eyes was obvious what he had done.

"Remus! Wake her up!"

"Lily! Wake up!"

"I meant shake her."

"Oh. LILY! WAKE UP!" Remus shouted in her ear.

Lily woke up. "Did it work?"

"Yeah… luckily," James sighed.

"Didn't realize you were concerned about my welfare," Lily said.

James gave her a funny look. "Your… concerned… welfare…?"

"Yeah. What, Potter?"

"Nothing. I just heard, er voices over Spring Break telling me- never mind."

"What happened to him?" Lily asked, gesturing towards Sirius.

James turned. "Evans! You-you- you _froze_ him!" he said haltingly, all calmness gone.

"I did?"

"Don't play dumb, Evans!" James said, pointing at Sirius. "_What did you do to him_?"

"I don't know!"

"Ah," Remus cleared his throat. "Well, Lily probably had more developed powers in her dream, as she was older, right?"

Lily shrugged.

"Put- him- back-" James tried desperately to get out words as his best friend was still frozen in place.

"I don't know how," Lily said.

"You- you waved your hand at him," James told her.

Lily tried. And tried. And tried again. And again. And again. And again.

"Evans! Why- isn't it- working?"

"Shut. Up. Potter." Lily said, throwing her hands up in exasperation… and Sirius unfroze.

"Sirius!"

"Huh? Lily, you were over there-"

"Yeah, well, I froze you in place by _accident_," Lily said, mostly to James.

"Oh."

The four went to bed, with Lily shaking her head, saying something about dangerous and illegal acts.

*~*~*~*~*

"Oh _please_! Like that ever happens!" Lily exclaimed, arguing with James in their "office" with the seventh year, Molly watching.

"Well, maybe it would!" James retorted.

"Molly does _not_ have to say anything to Arthur!"

"Well why not? Otherwise Arthur'll never know she likes him and will keep going out with that Ravenclaw slut!"

"She is _not_ a slut! And if Arthur were worth it, he'd realize that Molly liked him!"

"I thought you said that they wouldn't break up!" (A/N: refer to last chpt.)

"That's confidential information," Lily said. "Besides, it's called being nice. I don't suppose you've heard of it?"

"No, I suppose not," James answered coldly.

"And anyway, if Arthur weren't so _blind_, he'd see that she likes him, and wouldn't be so _stupid_ with girls if he knew a perfectly fine one liked him!"

"And Arthur's just _supposed_ to ask her out, not knowing if she likes him? She has to tell him first."

"You've never had a problem with asking girls out," Lily pointed out stiffly.

"That's because I _know_ they all like me!" James defended. "Well, most of them."

"Well, in any case, _you_ wouldn't know, as you always know that they like you! Arthur should just realize that she likes him! Honestly! Are _all_ boys so blind?"

"_You've _never been on a date, so how do _you_ know what you're talking about? You rejected every date, as you _didn't like them_, well, what if Arthur's afraid that that'll happen to _him_? She has to tell him," James said decidedly.

"She does not!"

"How's he going to know, then? You think he'll interpret 'You're stupid' into 'I'm madly in love with you'?"

Lily scoffed. "It's called reverse psychology, Potter."

"Yeah, well, it's better to be straight forward about it," James argued. 

"Oh, yeah. Like she'd say, 'Hi, Arthur, I obsess about you in my sleep. Say, d'you know the Potions homework?' Fat chance."

"Well, the worst he can do is say that he doesn't like her."

"Oh, _yeah_. She likes him, and he doesn't. Now they go back to normal?"

"Well, then don't like the guy!"

"Oh, _sure_, we choose," Lily said sarcastically. "That is _soo_ like you, Potter. Self-absorbed and stupid!"

Molly stood up. "Wow, that was great, pretending to argue on a subject to get to sides. Four sickles, right?"

"Uh…"

"And, by the way," Molly paused, halfway through the door, "Are you sure you were just talking about me and Arthur the whole time?"

"What?" Lily asked.

"Figure it out yourselves," she shrugged, and left.

"Well, that was…"

"Odd," James finished for her.

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) Another long one! Sorry this took so long!

To Come: Lily's parents die, trances, and, uh… checkers. Look for it in… between a day to three days.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

(A/N) Did you miss me? A lot of you guys are confused… This is _not_ a good thing. Glad you all pointed that out, though. Okay, one of you was confused about the "four sickles with the arguments thing". See, they're doing a project for prefects, coming up with a business and running it the muggle way. They chose psychiatry. And now, students come to them, and they try and solve their problems, for four sickles. They always disagree with each other, and always end up fighting, forgetting about their "customer", who ends up thinking that it was an act. 

Disclaimer: You know the drill.

*~*~*~*~*

"Think about it, Lily," Bella said, lying on the grass beside Lily. "We've but two more months of school left."

Lily shot up. "What day do we get out?"

"June fifth."

"What day is it?"

"April sixth."

Lily groaned. Then, she plopped down on the grass, seeing James. "Potter, what are you doing?"

"I'm looking for Peter. He uh… got upset about… stuff… and he… uh…" James glanced at Bella.

"I can go, if you want me to," she offered. "Leave you two lovebirds alone."

Both Lily and James jumped. "Hey! _Bella_, you _know_ how I feel about Potter. Please, stay. You were saying, Potter?"

"Peter. He, uh… and then, he kind of ran off, so now we're looking for him."

Lily nodded. "Right."

"Eeeeeeeeeeek! Mouse! Mouse! Mouse! Get it! Get it!" Bella shrieked.

"Where?" James asked sharply.

"It's up my shirt! Up my shirt! Ack! It's nibbling! Get it off! Get it off!"

James grinned and grabbed it as it came out. "You are _sick_," he told the rat, holding it by the tail. 

Lily laughed. "Probably figured he'd take advantage of a girl's open shirt. It's not like he could do it any other time."

The rat seemed to grin and shrug.

Bella stared at the two. "And you say you have nothing in common," she said, shaking her head. "Try insanity."

*~*~*~*~*

"You lying, stupid, ugly, cheating, bragging, arrogant, idiot!" Lily said, storming into the Common room.

"Gee, Evans, I love you too," James said sarcastically.

"You deserve to be boiled in frog spawn!"

Evelyn stood up. "Lily, you did that in third year. And ended up with detention for the entire year. Aren't you being a bit childish?"

"Potter, what did you do with my Transfiguration essay?"

James shrugged. "Ask Sirius. I gave it to him to copy."

Lily glared at him. The couch he had been sitting on flipped over.

"How'd you do that?"

"I'm surprised that you're surprised," she retorted.

"Oh, right, mood swings. Sirius warned me," James nodded.

Lily glared at him, and the couch flipped over again.

*~*~*~*~*

An owl came for Lily the next morning.

"What's that say?" Evelyn asked.

Lily shrugged.

"I have a more effective way of getting the four-one-one," James said, grabbing the envelope.

"Hey!" Lily jumped up, but as James was slightly taller than her, it was rather hopeless.

"Let's see…"

Lily grabbed for the envelope. "Just curious," James said, sitting back down.

"Whatever. Dear Miss Lily Evans, blah, blah, blah, We regret to inform you, blah, blah, blah, Lord Voldemort-"

Lily broke off. "Take it, Potter. Satisfy your curiosity," she said, throwing the paper at him and stalking off.

"What's it say?" Evelyn asked.

James glanced at it. "Dear Miss Lily Evans," he stopped.

"Well?"

"They used her full name. Can't be good news."

"Just go on."

James looked at the paper again. "We regret to inform you-"

"Well?"

"They regret. I told you it's bad news."

"Go _on_!" Evelyn said.

"Blah, blah, blah… oh."

"Well?"

"Well, it goes on from there," James said, folding up the paper and walked after Lily.

*~*~*~*~*

"Evans?"

Lily's laughed seem to be mixed with a sob. "Don't have the decency to use a girl's first name when her parents are dead?"

James shrugged. "You'd probably hurt me if I did."

"Possibly," Lily replied. 

"I somehow think this is more than me calling you by last name."

"You are entitled to think whatever you want."

"Thank you. So am I right?"

"Yeah. Petunia hates me," Lily answered.

"Petunia?"

"Sister," Lily muttered.

"Your mother's got a thing for flowers, hasn't she?" James joked. Seeing the look she had, he instantly corrected himself. "Oh, sorry. That was pretty insensitive, wasn't it?"

"No, I guess it's fine. Just remind me to kill you when I'm in a better mood," Lily said.

"Okay. Friday good for you?"

"I had hoped to be hiding the evidence by then," Lily smiled slightly.

"Uh, Wednesday?"

"Hmm… No, I'll be researching hexes and preparing."

"Thursday, then?"

"Perfect."

James took a seat across from her. "But really, are you okay?"

"Fine." 

"An awkward silence. The most definite thing I've ever wanted around my worst enemy," James nodded.

Lily laughed again. "What's your point, Potter?"

"Break the awkward silence," James said bluntly.

"Potter?"

"What?"

"Why'd you come after me?"

"Um…"

Lily shrugged and picked up a book. "You don't have to answer."

"You love to do that, don't you?"

"Do what?"

"You just like having the last word."

Lily shrugged. "Maybe."

"Evans?"

"What?"

"It's okay to cry, you know."

Lily picked up the book again. "I know. But I don't have any need to."

*~*~*~*~*

"They're talking… civilly," Sirius said.

"It's scary," Peter noted.

"It's sweet," Evelyn sighed.

"It's romantic," Bella said.

"They're talking civilly. How is that romantic?" Sirius asked.

"Well, she's smiling."

"He's laughing."

"I'll never understand women," Sirius muttered.

*~*~*~*~*

"Lily, are you okay?"

"Lily, I'm sorry."

"Lily, I feel so sorry for you."

"Lily, how are you?"

"Lily, how's your family?"

" Lily, can I borrow your Charms essay?"

Aside from the last remark made by Sirius, they all just made her feel worse.

*~*~*~*~*

"Lily, we are _so_ sorry for you," a pair of gossipy Gryffindor girls said.

"Are you here for psychiatric help?" Lily asked irritably.

"Well- no," they admitted.

"Could've fooled me," Lily muttered.

"We just wanted to extend sympathies-"

"Go. Leave. Adios. So long. Fare well. Goodbye."

James turned to her as they left. "Regular Socrates, aren't you?"

"I'm not in a giving mood, actually," Lily said, pulling out a chessboard.

"Really? It doesn't show."

"Hmm. Check."

"Check."

"Check and mate," Lily said, resetting the board.

"I do believe I'm actually getting use to muggle chess," James said.

"We can move onto checkers, then."

"What?"

"They can call it draughts, too. Check."

"Check."

"It's much easier than chess, of course."

James frowned. "_Are_ we talking about checkers?"

"Of course. Why?"

"You seem distracted."

"Why would you say that?"

"I just won," James said.

*~*~*~*~*

"Fine, I'll talk," Lily sighed. "But only because you're probably the only one who'll listen."

James nodded. "Go on."

"Petunia hates me."

"Why?"

"Why do you think?"

"Oh. Right. Check."

"For the last bloody time, it's 'king me', not 'check'! We are playing _checkers_."

"Sorry. Go on."

"Never mind."

"You're in a bright and cheery mood."

"Would you rather I go into a deep depression where I fling myself off the Astronomy Tower?"

"No, I'd miss making you mad."

"Angry. The word's angry," Lily corrected.

"You're very grammar oriented, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. Checkers isn't your game, Potter. Stick with chess."

*~*~*~*~*

James walked into the prefect's bathroom, thinking he heard someone crying.

"Uh, who's there?"

Lily appeared from the bath. "Oh, it's you."

The pool-sized bath was covered with bubbles, but he couldn't help being uneasy.

"You, uh, _are_ wearing something down there, aren't you?"

Lily rolled her eyes. "No, I'm letting you stay in here while I have nothing on."

"Really?"

"Pervert." She got out of the bath, wearing a black two piece with a skirt wrap, dripping with water.

"I'm done here, you can have it."

"Uh, thanks," James mumbled.

"Potter?"

"Wha-?"

"Stop staring at me," she said, wrapping a towel around herself.

"Oh, sorry."

"I do believe you're blushing, Mr. Potter," Lily said, smiling lightly.

"Wha-? Oh, sorry. Were you- crying earlier?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but yes, I was," she said, stiffening. "Stop staring."

"Oh, sorry."

Lily charmed her hair dry. "Don't, it's just- just- Why am I even having this conversation with you?" Lily asked. "Good _evening_, Mr. Potter."

*~*~*~*~*

"Bet she looked HOT!" Sirius grinned, as James described his encounter."

"She did- wait, that wasn't- I mean, I don't-"

"Oooooh! Prongsie has a little crush, eh? How sweet."

"I do not."

"Sure."

"Leave him alone, Sirius," Remus ordered.

"But Remus!" he whined. "It's great fun!"

"Stop… Even if it _is_ true," Remus said.

*~*~*~*~*

A/N: I just found out something about Sibyl! Sibyls were the oracles of the Greeks and Romans. Maybe that had something to do with Professor Trelawney.

To Come: Trance, and, um, the climax of my story. Only two or three chapters to go!


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

(A/N) Thanks to all of you who reviewed my fic! Just one or two more chapters! Okay, I'll miss writing this, so maybe a third. Oh, and when I wrote this, I didn't know that J.K. made James a Chaser, so bear with me, okay? In here, he's a seeker.

Disclaimer: Refer to past chapters. And the quotes that Lily says are from 

*~*~*~*~*

"What're you reading about?"

"Prophecies," Lily murmured. 

"What's the title?"

"Doesn't have one… I got it from the restricted section."

James raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you take books from there without permission?"

"Dumbledore gave permission."

"What prophecy?"

Lily shrugged. "I don't know. I can't make much sense of any of the words, as they're such old words, but it takes my mind off… other things.

"Such as?"

"Life and how it works," Lily said smartly.

"Feeling philosophical today?"

"If not, I wouldn't know what else."

"Got any advice for me?"

"Yep."

"And that is?" James asked.

"_Qui plus sait, plus se tait._"

"What?"

"French. The more a man knows, the less he talks," Lily said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You figure it out. _La experiencia es la madre de la ciencia._"

"I only speak English and Latin, Evans," James said.

"Spanish. Experience is the mother of knowledge."

"What's with the different languages?"

Lily shrugged. "_Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connait point_."

"French again?" James asked.

Lily nodded. "The heart has its reasons, whereof reason knows nothing."

"So you're talking only in quotes to me today?"

"Basically."

*~*~*~*~*

"Hi, Lily. Lily? Why're you crying?" Remus asked. "Oh, right. Forget I asked."

Lily was sitting on the couch in the common room. She preferred crying in less public areas, but _obviously_ she couldn't stay in the common room, so…

"Hey Evans. Are you crying?"

"Go away," Lily said blankly, waving him away.

As if by an invisible force, James was pinned against the wall suddenly.

Lily blinked and glanced at her hand and James, who was also staring at her incredulously. She began to cry again.

"Evans? Are you okay?"

"I told you to go away."

"I would, but…" James nodded at the wall.

"Yeah, sure, whatever- no! Not again! Not now-"

Lily's eyes seemed to have a blazing, emerald fires in place of her normal eyes for a second, then they returned to normal.

__

A graveyard. A boy.

The scene split in two. The one on the left, James was there. On the right, a boy that resembled a younger James was standing. On both scenes, a black, hooded figure emerged… closer, closer, rotting decay from one, wheezing, terrified breaths from the other… The cloaked figure pulling down its hood… On the left, Voldemort. On the right, Peter Pettigrew. Now someone was screaming, then it was drowned out by a green light. James was dead. But another scream still rang in the air… Familiar, loud…

It was her own. Lily shrieked.

"I'm not _that_ repulsive, I hope," James laughed.

"What're you doing here? I though he killed… Wait, never mind," Lily scowled.

"What?"

"Nothi-" Lily's eyes dilated for a second.

__

A small snitch. Grabbed by James. A whirling of color. Then, the graveyard.

"What was that?" James asked.

"Nothing. Just stay away from snitches."

"First it's green lights, now it's snitches? Evans, have you completely lost your mind? Besides, I _have_ to stick around snitches… I'm seeker, remember?"

Lily groaned. "Well, at least get another snitch."

"What are you saying, Evans?" James asked, suddenly finding the force that bound him to the wall released.

"The snitch is a portkey, alright?"

"Oh, like I'd believe that."

"_Fine_. Unlike you, I actually _care_ if someone's going to die."

"What?"

"The snitch is a portkey to a graveyard, where Voldemort is. He killed you."

"Gee, Evans, didn't know you cared," James said sarcastically.

"Don't flatter yourself, Potter," Lily huffed, moving past him.

"Where're you going?"

"To the Headmaster. _He'll_ listen to me."

*~*~*~*~*

Dumbledore beamed at the large crowd anticipating the final match, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. 

"Welcome students, teachers, ghosts, and, er, others, to the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw match for the Quidditch House Cup!" his voice boomed across the field. "Under certain circumstances, we have had to change the snitch for, er, confidential reasons. However, not to worry, it's an even higher quality one! Used in the quidditch World Cup of 64'! As you know, it was caught by the world famous seeker, a former student of mine, Hernando Fentigor!" Dumbledore waited for the cheering to die down. "I now hand this to Mr. Sirius Black, your commentator."

Sirius grinned. "Hello! And, here is our Gryffindor team captain, the talented, the popular, the smart… James Potter!"

Next to him in the commentator's box, Lily muttered, "You left out arrogant."

Sirius grinned again. "A message from Miss Lily Evans, she _loves_ J-"

A few students looked up to see what had stopped Sirius' commentating. When they did, they were faced with the image of Lily attempting to strangle Sirius. She had somehow managed to grab the megaphone.

"Ack. Your commentator, Mr. Black, is currently… _indisposed_, so I'll be taking his place."

A few students chuckled. "Anyway, Potter, the stupid, air-headed, ugly team captain is there. Then, of course, there's Mr.-"

"Miss Evans?"

Lily turned around. "Professor! Uh, hi?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Now, as Miss Evans can't commentate due to certain biases against the Gryffindor team captain, and Mr. Black is… well, he'll be fine later, I'll commentate myself."

Lily shrugged.

*~*~*~*~*

__

A clock. Exactly two fifty-nine o' clock in time. James waved to the cheering crowds and gripped his broom. He was also holding the Cup. The clock then moved to three. James was swept away in a whirlwind of colors, dropping the House Cup.

Lily shruddered, and looked at her watch. Two forty-six. Lily sighed and gazed out the window. She didn't especially enjoy watching quidditch; what was the point in watching players who kept on whizzing by so that you couldn't even see them, and how the game ended so suddenly all the time. This time, however, she kept her eye on the red and gold blur that was James Potter. Evidently, the portkey's abilities had been transported to his broom.

She sighed again, and watched the game, willing it to end, and went out to join the crowds.

*~*~*~*~*

Two- fifty… Still no sign of the snitch… Two fifty-five... James was diving at the snitch… Two fifty seven… James caught the snitch… Two fifty nine…Lily made her way through the crowd around James (politeness couldn't be bothered).

"James Potter, get the bloody hell away from that broom!"

"What?" he cupped a hand up to his ear.

"I SAID, GET THE BLOODY-"

"WHAT?"

"Just give me the broom," Lily said.

"No," He said.

"Don't be ridiculous. Just hand it over."

"What? No way-"

Lily watched her watch. _Eighteen seconds… Eleven seconds… Five seconds…_

She grabbed hold of the broom.

"Evans, what the-"

Three o' clock.

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) Very short chapter, I know. Oh well. 

To Come: They are swept away to the graveyard. Enough said.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

(A/N) Another chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own the plot (proud of it). Quotes are Madeline L'Engle's (_A Wrinkle In Time_)

*~*~*~*~*

They arrived at a dark, cold, graveyard.

"You just had to be stupid right _then_?" Lily asked.

"Where are we?" James asked.

"Graveyard. Because you wouldn't listen to me," Lily said.

"What?"

"Did I _not_ tell you it was a portkey?"

"No. You just told me to let go."

"Well, why didn't you?"

"Because."

"You should have listened," Lily grumbled.

"Why?"

Lily sighed. "Do you hear anything?"

"No."

"Someone brought us here for a reason. Mainly, me."

"Just because of you?"

"Shut _up_."

"Quite well said, Miss Evans," a cold voice said. "I would have said it myself. Though I had different ways of it myself."

Lily and James looked up, face to face with…

"Voldemort," James said, his muscles tensing.

"_In flagrante delicto_," the cruel face twisted into a smile. "I believe _you_ are the one who spoke Latin?"

"What do you want with us?" James asked.

"Us? No, my boy, you misunderstand. It's _her_ I want. You are merely an added bonus," Voldemort said.

"Why?" Lily asked.

Voldemort smiled again. "_Vitam impendere vero_. To stake one's life for the truth," he said. "I will give you the truth. And then, you will, in turn, give me your life."

*~*~*~*~*

Dumbledore frowned.

Lily Evans had, of course, heard voices in his mind. Now it was time to see if she would listen. And, more importantly, to which ones.

*~*~*~*~*

Lily glared at him, her knuckles white. In the process, she looked him in the eye, and was hit with the same words she had heard in Dumbledore's office, with ten times more force and twenty times more impact.

__

"Help us!"

"Join us! We will help you be great!"

"You will be of great help here."

"We can make them all fall to your feet."

"All you have to do is kill him…"

"Kill him…"

Kill who? Lily thought.

__

"James Potter. Kill him… You will be great."

"James Potter is a small sacrifice compared to the power you will achieve."

"Kill him…"

"No," Lily said out loud.

"Evans?"

__

"Now is your chance… Kill the boy."

No.

__

"Why not? You never liked him."

No.

__

"Kill him… It's for the good of us all, you know."

How?

__

"He will bring our downfall. You must stop him!"

No.

__

"Don't you care for others than yourself, you selfish brat?"

Yes.

__

"Then kill him! It will do us all good! He any help alive, yet all the help dead."

NO.

__

"You are selfish. No wonder your sister hates you. You killed your parents. Selfish, silly, girl."

"No," Lily said softly.

*~*~*~*~*

Dumbledore nodded slightly. Good.

She had said no. She had refused. But couldn't any of those other voices penetrate through?

*~*~*~*~*

"Evans? Are you alright?"

"I can't," she said.

Voldemort was looking at her with intense fury.

__

"Selfish little-"

"Don't listen! You won't help anyone!"

"Of course you will! You'll be helping us! You'll be helping you!"

"No! Would you be able to live with yourself if you killed someone?"

"James Potter is a mere pebble in your path to glory. Kick him aside. Now."

"Lily, you aren't doing anyone any good-"

"Shut up! Impertinent little child! LISTEN! Kill James Potter!"

Lily turned, her eyes dilated.

"Evans?"

"Avada K-"

"Evans? What are you doing?"

Lily advanced on him. "Ava-"

"Stop it," James said. "Stop it."

__

"Kill him… Now. Get it over with. Kill James Potter."

"A-"

"Lily Evans, stop what you're doing," James ordered. "I know you're in there somewhere."

"Avada Kedav-k- k-"

"Don't do it, Lily," James said.

__

"DO IT! NOW!"

"A-a-Avada K-k-kedavr-vr-vra."

James dodged the jet of green.

"Evans! Stop it! This isn't you!"

"Avada K- k-"

"Evans!"

"A-avada Ke- Kedavra!"

James dodged it again.

"Stop! You don't want to do this, Lily!"

Lily collapsed. "No. No. _No._ _NO!_"

James sighed. "Evans?"

Lily was still on the ground. 

"Are you alright?"

"I can't, I can't, I can't," she sobbed.

"It's okay, it's okay," James said.

"You! Stop it! Stop it, stop it, stop it!"

"What?" James asked, bewildered.

"Oh, she can't be bothered right now," Voldemort said lazily. "Seers tend to be a bit… _emotional_ after ordeals."

"Your point?"

"That leaves just me… and you. My, my, this heats things up, doesn't it?"

"No," Lily groaned, getting up. "Stop it."

"Stop what?" Voldemort asked.

"Go away," Lily whispered. "You aren't really _here_."

*~*~*~*~*

Dumbledore sighed with relief.

So she had come through. 

*~*~*~*~*

"Funny little thing, aren't you? Of course I'm here. You see me, don't you?"

"You aren't here. You aren't real."

"What am I then? Some mere illusion?"

"No. But you can't _really_ be there. After all, you would have done something by now."

"I _have_ done something."

"Yeah, created some sort of duplicate of yourself," Lily muttered. 

"Smart you are," Voldemort said. "Only, you'd have to hurt the actual me. Not the duplicate. Problem is… who's real?"

He pulled out a crystal globe. "Look in, Miss Evans. Tell me what you see."

Lily glared at him. "Why should I?"

"You will."

Lily took the globe away. "What is it?"

"Look _in_," Voldemort ordered.

Inside, there was a forest, and a cloaked figure, hurrying along to… Hogwarts?

"What is it?"

"It is to reassure you, my dear, that if I _am_ the duplicate or not, all of your friends are in danger."

"What?"

"That, if you had seen it closer, was me. Or perhaps it was a duplicate of me. Or, maybe, it was the original."

"What does it matter?"

"Well, considering you have to get to whoever the original is, yes, it would. Look in again, and tell me what you see."

Lily eyed the glass. "I see a phoenix. It's singing. Now it's dead. There's a reaper. He's singing and smiling." Lily jerked it away. "What is this?"

"That is, of course, a Dark Mirror, and reflects the spirits around you."

"They don't exist."

"That's the only one in existence, Miss Evans," Voldemort said. "Now. We had a bargain, I recall. I give you the truth; you give me your life."

"Potter, get to the portkey," Lily ordered.

"Evans, what the-"

"Get to the broom," she repeated, suddenly concentrating on the ground.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

"Why?"

"Listen to me, Potter. The _last_ time you didn't, we ended up _here_, with a potential madman and Dark Wizard," Lily said.

"Madman?" Voldemort asked. "I believe some sort of reprimanding is in order. _Crucio_!"

Lily dodged. "_Potter_! Get the broom!"

"What?"

She gave the broom a telekinetic flip towards him.

"What? No."

"It's active again. Get it."

"You?"

"I have unfinished business with the bozo over here," Lily said, still staring at the ground.

"Bozo? Quite a lot of names you have, young lady. Shall I give you a punishment?"

Lily looked up at last, and scuffed the dirt with her shoe, spraying sand at him. In mid air, sand became dust, which became glass, which, by the time it reached him, became tiny fireballs.

"That was quite impolite," Voldemort said. "A little time out is in order."

Lily jumped back. "Potter, get the broom!"

"I don't know where it is!"

Lily groaned, and gave it another telekinetic flip. A sudden barrier of fire and light suddenly burst from the ground to the sky. A figure that seemed to have the head and body of a lion, the wings of a raven, the tail of a snake, and the front feet of a badger was scratched into the surface of the ground, and the flames seemed to be forming the same figure.

"Whoa," James said.

"_Get to the broom_!" Lily ordered again.

"No, you have to go too," James replied.

Lily sighed as the figure in the flames seemed to act as a barrier, and gave the broom one last flick, landing it in James' arms, which he caught, then was whisked away in a blur of color.

*~*~*~*~*

"James! Are you hurt? Do you need help? Where's Lily?" McGonagall asked anxiously.

"Evans," James mumbled, his face in the grass. "Where is she?"

"Stop joking, Potter. Where is she?"

"I'm not," James said, standing up. "Really. Where is she?"

"Not with you, Potter," McGonagall said worriedly.

*~*~*~*~*

"Well, you can't exactly leave now, can you? The boy you so heroically safe took your only chance of leaving away with him."

Lily scowled. "What did you want with me? And why'd you turn Potter's broom into a portkey? You could have gotten to me directly."

"Hit two birds with one stone, Miss Evans. It saves up ammunition," Voldemort said. "Understand?"

"Clear. As. Mud," Lily spat.

"Quite the little bi-"

"I _can_ leave," Lily said suddenly, as the creature of fire and light prowled back and forth between them.

"You could become great helping me, you know," Voldemort said.

"How?"

"The key to power is fear," Voldemort answered. "And through me, and working for me, you'd get more power than all my Death Eaters combined."

"No thanks," Lily said sweetly. "My mother taught me to never associate with idiots who killed random people for no reason."

"Fiery temper, Red."

"Red? _Red_? What sort of nickname is _that_?" Lily asked. "My hair's _auburn._"

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) Sorry for the cliff hanger last time! It's a bad ending for now, I know… I couldn't come up with anything else.

To Come: James and Lily recount everything to Dumbledore, and, uh… more stuff.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

(A/N) Hello! Last Chapter! Then you can look forward to my next fic! (I need a title, people, anybody got an idea?)

Disclaimer: I own the plot.

*~*~*~*~*

"Mr. Potter, please come with me," Dumbledore beckoned. 

"Lily," James muttered, "The broom… portkey… she stayed back… I am _such_ an idiot."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Not at all, Mr. Potter. Miss Evans can take care of herself… Sugar Quills."

The stone gargoyle in front of the door sprang to life.

"You mean- you aren't worried at all?"

"Oh, I _am_ worried, but I have faith in her." He obviously had _more_ than faith, and probably more than he was saying, James concluded, as Dumbledore would be much more worried about such a case. Nonetheless, he didn't press the subject.

"Now, please, Mr. Potter, tell me what happened," he said, taking out a small tin of lollipops, Sugar Quills, and Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. "Sweets?"

James stared at the Headmaster in shock for a second, then shrugged and took a piece of gum. Dumbledore took a sugar quill for himself, and nodded. "Go on then, Mr. Potter."

"Er… At the quidditch match, she told me to get away from the broom, and I didn't, so she tried to take it away, and… It was a portkey, so we ended up in some sort of graveyard. Then Voldemort came, and said some stuff. She turned and tried to kill me." He was a bit shocked at how much it sounded like Lily tried to kill him every day, by the sound of his voice. On second thought, she did. "Er… She made some sort of light and fire barrier of a creature, it sort of paced between us and him… Then after a while, I came back. That's it."

"Not quite, James."

"What d'you you mean?"

"I'm sure there's more to the story," Dumbledore said.

"I don't quite follow you, sir."

"Well, I intend to ask Lily her version of it," he said simply.

"How, professor?"

"She's behind the door."

*~*~*~*~*

James' mouth fell open. "How'd you…"

Lily tilted her head. "You are _such_ an idiot, James."

"Uh… You're alive."

Lily rolled her eyes. "_No_, I just look alive, sound alive, and breathe, like normal, living organisms, but what I _really_ am is an alien extraterrestrial coming to find out how the average earthling spends their day."

"Miss Evans?"

"Oh, right. Sorry. You were saying, Professor?"

"I believe what Mr. Potter meant was how you managed to get out alive, which I must admit I'm curious of, also."

"Yeah, that's it," James said hoarsely, as Lily looked like she had just taken a brisk jog instead of battling Dark Wizards in graveyards.

"Oh… well, after he left, I kind of figured that I was done for, as I couldn't get back, unless he charmed the broom again. And, no offence, but he's kind of a dunce at Charms."

"Gee, you'd think after all that you'd be a bit more polite," James scoffed.

"What color is the _sky_ in your world?" Lily shot back. 

"Purple," James said.

"I hate to interrupt you two, but…"

"Oh, right. Anyway, before I was so _rudely interrupted_ by people who shall remain nameless, he tried to get me to join the Dark Side, saying I'd get to become the most powerful, most feared, most honored Death Eater, and I disagreed." Lily laughed bitterly. "Then, when I said no, he said he'd kill me and take my power. _Obviously_, he didn't think I read up on Seers… they can't take my powers by killing me. Then a bunch of Death Eaters showed up on the spot, and I ran for dear life."

"All the way to Hogwarts?" Dumbledore frowned.

"Oh, no. I had a notion of doing that, but… Well, I dodged under a gravestone, and tried that particle shifting to change my appearances to look like one of them. After a while, they figured I was gone, and formed some kind of circle, so I just followed and did what they did. Then, everyone was bowing in turn. And when it was my turn, I spit in his face," Lily said, sounding like a five year old who was just handed a five-foot lollipop; very pleased with herself.

"I presume he was less than happy about that?"

"Yeah. He said he'd just kill me after he had his fun with me. _Jolly good_ fun, in my opinion. Hit me with Crucio every few seconds, an Imperious after that, and I had ever so much fun dodging the Killing Curse."

"And how did you get back?"

"I shifted my particles back, as I wasn't on Hogwarts grounds (A/N: Can't believe someone guessed!), after I blew a large hole in the ground between him and me."

"And the barrier?"

"It disappeared a little after James left."

"I see… A hundred points to Gryffindor each," Dumbledore said.

"Thanks." Lily bit her lip. "Today was my parents' funeral."

"Well, you missed it to stop another's."

"Yeah… _Potter's_," Lily said, though she cracked a smile.

"Yeah…" James followed her out the door.

*~*~*~*~*

"Password?"

James stood in front of the portrait, a few days after the "incident", as Lily had dubbed it, wondering what the password could be, as Lily had changed it. "I don't know," he said finally.

"Sorry, dear, that isn't the password."

James turned to see a fifth year girl. "Hey, d'you know the password?"

She walked to the Fat Lady's portrait and said clearly, "James Potter is the Biggest Idiot Alive and is Forever Indebted to the Lovely, Beautiful, and Smart, Lily Evans."

The portrait swung open.

*~*~*~*~*

"Like the new password?" Lily asked sweetly, looking up from her book.

"Lovin' it," James answered sarcastically.

"Hi, guys!" Peter said. "I heard what happened! Can you tell us the story?"

"Us?" Lily asked.

"Come on, guys!" Peter opened the door for a couple dozen students. To Lily and James, he whispered, "Make it good, they're paying me six sickles."

*~*~*~*~*

"… And then, I was discovered by him," Lily said dramatically.

"Did run?"

"Did he hurt you?"

"Did you get out alive?" Peter asked anxiously.

"Gee, Peter, I don't know, I'll have to get back to you on that," Lily said sarcastically.

James smiled. "Don't worry Peter, I'm sure it's just _that time of month_."

"Potter!"

"What?" he asked innocently.

*~*~*~*~*

"It gives me great pleasure and sadness to announce the end of the year is approaching at a rapid pace." 

"Here comes the talk," James muttered.

"No, indeed, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore laughed. "Actually, it was just to remind you that the project you prefects were all working on is due tomorrow, with all the money you have made."

*~*~*~*~*

Lily groaned.

A Slytherin. She _really_ didn't want to help a Slytherin. But… four sickles was four sickles, even from a Slytherin, and they were just one away from winning.

"I need help," Stephanie Colebra said.

"_Obviously_."

"I'm madly in love with James."

"You're right," Lily said finally. "You _do _need help. Mental help."

James had pushed himself to the back of his chair.

"You know, James, maybe you _should_ go out with Steph," Lily countered.

"Traitor," James muttered.

"You know, the two of you look _adorable_ together."

"Mean," James hissed.

"Now, Stephanie, I'd _love_ to help you, but… Well, the truth is, dear, he's taken."

"He is?" she asked, at the same time James said, "I am?"

Lily kicked him under the table. "Oh- _ow_- I am!"

"By who?" Stephanie asked hotly.

"Yeah, by who? I mean- _ow_- how did you know?"

"I _know_ because I have an uncanny way of knowing things," Lily said, still smiling sweetly.

"Who're you seeing?" Stephanie demanded.

"Uh…"

She dropped in a sickle.

"Uh…"

She dropped in another two sickles.

"I'm seeing…"

She dropped in three sickles. 

"Her name's…"

Stephanie dropped in five sickles. "If you leave her, I've got ten more sickles."

"Uh…"

"Well?" she asked expectantly.

"Like I said before, Steph, he's taken," Lily said.

"Like you know. And _don't_ call me Steph," she retorted. "Now, who's he seeing?"

"Hmm. Me, so… sod off, dear," Lily said, still smiling, then pulled James into a kiss.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Steph."

When she left, James jumped out of his chair. "What was _that_?"

"What, never been kissed, Potter?"

*~*~*~*~*

"Due to certain circumstances, we have chosen our Head Boy and Girl, who will, at this time, give their speeches, as we'll have a larger number of Prefect introductions next year. Miss Evans and Mr Potter. Miss Evans?"

No answer.

"Ah… Miss Evans?"

No answer.

"Miss Evans?"

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! JAMES POTTER!!!!!!! TURN MY HAIR BACK THIS INSTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"AFTER _YOU_ MAKE MY FEET FACE FORWARDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"I ONLY DID IT BECAUSE YOU TOOK MY SPEECH!!!!!!!"

"I"LL GIVE IT BACK ONCE I'M DONE COPYING!!"

"WRITE YOUR _OWN_ SPEECH!!!!!!"

"IT'S EASIER TO TAKE YOURS!!!!!!!!!"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN PREPARED!!!!! GIVE. IT. BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Er, they must be a bit indisposed at the moment," Dumbledore noted, as the students looked around for the source of their voices.

"I'm almost done. Take your stupid speech!" James said, suddenly walking onto the stage.

"Not _now_… You took it!" Lily shot back, also appearing. 

"So? What're you gonna do about it?"

"All _I_ have to do is flip my hair the right way, and you'll start stuttering."

"I do _not_!"

"Well, you do _now_."

With that, Lily swiftly kissed him on the lips, in a similar manner as the other day. James started stuttering. "Uh… W-what was…"

She snatched the parchment from his hands. "I'll take _that_, thank you."

"Unfair!"

"Not like you didn't enjoy it," Lily replied.

"Well, I'm a teenage guy, what did you expect?"

"_That_."

"Hmph." He took out a crystal, silvery liquid and sprayed it at Lily.

"Five, four, three, two, one…" James smiled with satisfaction.

"I wish I didn't have to write a speech, I hate it when everyone stares at me. I caught Severus Snape making out with Luscious' girlfriend last week, and Evelyn likes Sirius. Voldemort has a big nose, but Snape has a crooked one, and all the Slytherins have odd noses. I hate Transfiguration, and I think Hagrid's cooking is really awful. I can't believe I just kissed Potter on the lips-" Lily clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Mind Speaking potion," James said to the students. "New concoction, when wet by a few drops, you spill out your heart and mind's deepest secrets. Obviously, Evans has an odd mind if she thinks that all Slytherins have odd noses as a secret. It's on sale for nine sickles at Zonko's Joke shop."

"I saw Malfoy rigging the Prefect's project, I think everybody that came for the psychiatry has serious problems, and Petunia's fiancée is an ugly wart, and that James is a really good-"

Dumbledore, somewhat amusedly, stopped her babbling.

*~*~*~*~*

"Shame he stopped you before you got to the good stuff," Sirius said, catching up with Lily on their train compartment.

"Say, what were you going to say before Dumbledore found the counter curse?"

"I… forgot."

"Let me help you," James said to Sirius, and shot a bit more liquid at her.

The flood of talking began again. "James is actually a really, really good kisser-"

"_Really_?"

"-And he plays girls like cards-"

"Nice, Evans."

"-And I-" Lily clamped a hand on her mouth and got someone to say the counter spell.

"Spoilsport," James called after her.

"Ah, the tangled web of lives we lead…" Sirius said philosophically.

"What's the betting Prongs' life is tangled with Lily flower's?" Remus asked.

"I bid eight galleons!"

"I bid nine!"

"It's _bet_, you retards! And I bet twenty, by the way," Sirius grinned. "Boy, James, you might want to get a _small_ wedding… you'll owe us all galleons by the dozen."

"Nice, Sirius," James said. "Shut it now, before I make Peter best man."

"More like Maid of Honor," Lily's voice sounded behind them. "So, Potter, planning our wedding without me?"

"Uh…"

And they walked out to the train station.

*~*~*~*~*

(A/N) Yay! DONE! Look for my next fic… Coming soon. It might take a while, as I have TerraNova testing right now, but, whatever. It'll come out before next week!

To Come: Look for the next fic!!!


	23. Explanations

Author's Note:

*~*~*~*~*

Hi! To answer many of your reviews… NO SEQUEL!!!!!!! (Boo-hoo, I'm sad) However, if any of you would like to write a sequel to my fic, you can e-mail me your idea, and I can "grant you permission" (I am currently laughing hysterically) to write it… That is, if any of you _want_ to write a sequel. 

On another note, I'm writing another L/J love/hate fic, _Predictable_. Much longer, more fluffy stuff, blah, blah, blah. It should be up by tomorrow, I hope.

I know a lot of you were confused, or possibly disappointed at how little L/J there was… what can I say? Here are a few explanations to a few confusing, loose ends:

****

Voices in Dumbledore's Head: (I'm putting all explanations in story form, as it's more interesting that way)

__

Scene in Dumbledore's office:

"But professor, I still don't understand some things."

"And what's that, Miss Evans?"

"When I was- when you had me read your mind… I heard voices-"

"I know," Dumbledore cut her off. "I expect that you were confused?"

"Yes, sir. Why weren't they just normal thoughts?"

He sighed deeply. "Miss Evans, have you ever read the book , _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_?"

"Er… Yeah," Lily frowned. "What're you saying, sir?"

"Well, the basic concept of the book is correct, as everyone _does_ have a good and bad, a light and dark, a yin and yang. It all balances out. Of course, you yourself can't hear it; it acts more as an impulse when it comes out. Seers, however, have the rare ability to hear those voices in the mind. I, however, was granted the ability to have them come out as voices that oppose each other on whatever I'm thinking. As they link to my thinking, you heard the voices."

"Oh. So could I hear my own voices?"

"No, I sincerely doubt it, Miss Evans."

*~*~*~*~*

****

James and Lily's Situation: 

__

Scene at the Evans home during dinner.

"So, Lily, did anything exciting happen this school year?" Her aunt Rachel asked.

"Um… Not much," Lily shrugged.

"You didn't go to your own parents' funeral," Petunia pointed out to her sister. "_I_ did. _I_ watched them die, you freak. _You_ were off at school."

"Shut up!"

"Lily… Petunia…"

"Sorry, Aunt Rachel," they both murmured.

"So, Lily, did you meet any nice boys?"

"_Obviously_ not," Petunia said.

"Um…"

"Vernon gave me a bracelet," Petunia said, waving a gold chain under her nose.

"Fascinating," Lily replied shortly.

"Now, Petunia… So, Lily? Any boys?"

"Umm…"

A sudden screech of an owl and her sister cut off her answer.

"Monster! Monster!"

"It's an _owl_, Petunia," Lily rolled her eyes. 

"Hmm… Addressed to you, Lily, from a Mr. James Potter," their aunt said, examining the envelope. "Who is he?"

"Um…"

"I'm hurt, Evans; You didn't mention me?" a voice said.

Petunia screamed, and Lily whirled around, to see James leaning in the doorframe of their kitchen.

"Uh… Aunt Rachel, this is James Potter, and-"

"I get it," James said. "Pleased to meet you, Rachel," James nodded.

"He- he appeared out of thin air!" Petunia said faintly.

"Potter!"

"I didn't apparate… I was there the whole time."

"How'd you get in? When?"

"After you," James shrugged.

"Didn't your mother explain that it's a felony to stalk people?"

"No."

"Ahem." They both turned to see her aunt rising from her seat at the table.

"Uh… right," James nodded. "Am I interrupting dinner?"

"You're welcome to join, dear. Are you Lily's boyfriend?"

"Uh… Evans, would you like to take that one?"

"Uh… You answer."

"Uh…"

"Jolly good to see the two of you!" Sirius' voice rang.

"What is this? Some sort of 'Scare-Lily-Out-of-Her-Wits' Day'?" Lily asked.

"I came on my new motorcycle," Sirius answered. "Oh, and Evelyn, Remus, Bella, and Peter'll be along soon."

"An eight hour reunion. How lovely," Lily said sarcastically.

"Seven hours and forty-nine minutes," James answered, checking his watch.

"I believe the two of you were in the middle of answering the all too important question of-"

"Shut up!" they both said.

"They look like a couple, they sound like a couple, they _act_ like a couple! The answer is…" Sirius said in an announcer's voice.

"YES!!" Evelyn and Bella cheered, popping in.

"I _know_ that was apparation!"

"We got my dad to bend the rules for us," Evelyn said.

"I have the weirdest friends," Lily muttered.

"And you're stuck with us," James grinned.

"_You_ are in _so_ much trouble when I'm able to hex you again," Lily muttered.

"Aw, you aren't gonna hurt Jamesiepoo, are you?" Sirius cooed.

Lily thrust a hand at Sirius, scorching his hair. "I can't help that I still have the advantages of being a Seer," she said sweetly.

"FREAKS!" Petunia shouted, before slamming her bedroom door.

"Sheesh," Sirius said. "I was thinking more along the lines of: REALLY COOL GUESTS!"

"And these are my friends," Lily sighed, nodding at her aunt.

*~*~*~*~*

Okay, that was screwed up. Oh well. Anyway, like I said, if you want to write a sequel to my story, send me an 

e-mail with your ideas, and I'll tell you if you can (sound like a contest). And if not… You can still write the story, just don't call it the sequel to my fic. Boy, that sounds messed up, too. 

Don't forget to read my new fic!


End file.
